To Protect That Which is Most Precious
by Kallanit
Summary: Hermione comes home excited to tell Ron that she's pregnant, but finds her boyfriend cheating on her. When Ron attacks her, Harry refuses to get involved and turns her away. Betrayed, Hermione leaves without saying where she's going or telling anyone that she's pregnant with Ron's child, in order to protect that which is most precious to her: her child. Eventual HG/SS pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 1**

Hermione Granger walked into the flat she shared with her boyfriend, Ronald Weasley, with a Cheshire Cat grin on her face. Hermione was a trainee Healer at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London and lately had been working long hours as more often than not, Ron had plans in the evenings that did not include her. When she had spent a year finishing off her schooling after the war, Ron had chosen not to return to Hogwarts.

Over that year, Ron had got into the habit of going out with his mates every night and saw no reason to change once Hermione had finished school and moved in with him. She had been living with Ron for nearly a year now and could count on the fingers of one hand the number of evenings they had spent together during that time. While Hermione very much enjoyed spending an evening curled up relaxing on the sofa with a good book and glass of wine, that did not mean she was averse to going out and having fun. However, Ron had decided that all she wanted to do was sit at home and read and never the most flexible of people, having pigeon-holed her in his mind, nothing else registered with him. Most evenings, she would come home only to find him on his way out.

"I'm just going down to the pub to meet the lads. You enjoy your book, I'll see you later," was the common greeting from her boyfriend as she arrived home.

However, today she had come home at midday to prepare a surprise for him. Not only did she want to do something special for his birthday, she also had exciting news to share and she hoped that this would mark a change for the better in their relationship, as they had been rowing a lot lately over Ron's tendency to go out and leave Hermione at home alone.

Hermione headed to the bedroom, wanting to shower and change before preparing the meal that she had planned for herself and Ron. As she walked into their bedroom, however, she was stunned to see Ron in bed with Romilda Vane. Romilda had been in Gryffindor House with Hermione and Ron at Hogwarts but Hermione had not thought that Romilda had any interest in Ron. In fact, Romilda had tried to dose her other best friend, Harry Potter, with love potions but had not spared as much as a glance for Harry's ginger side-kick.

Hermione gasped in shock. "Ron!" she cried out, hurt evident in her voice.

The two people in the bed jumped apart at the sound of her voice. They looked around and seeing the upset woman standing in the doorway, they both smirked at her. Ron leaned over to kiss Romilda and then looked back towards Hermione.

"Happy birthday to me," he said meanly.

"I know things haven't been good between us lately but why would you cheat on me, Ron? You could have just said you didn't want to be with me any more," Hermione said sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"And have everyone blame me for breaking up with you? Not likely! I'm not the one at fault here. It's all your fault. If you were a proper woman, I wouldn't need to look at someone else, would I?" he sneered.

Climbing out the bed, Ron stalked over to Hermione. "Romilda's a real woman, who likes to make me happy."

"You mean she's desperate to snag herself a boyfriend who has even the slightest bit of fame!" Hermione retorted.

As he loomed over her menacingly, Hermione drew out her wand. Before she could fire off a spell, Ron lunged towards her, trapping her against the wall with his hand around her throat.

"You're just a nagging, bossy cow that no one likes. You're ugly, Hermione. I'm embarrassed to be seen with you," he snarled in her ear.

"When did you get so mean, Ron?" she gasped, trying not to be scared of the man who at this moment she did not recognise, while Romilda lay in Hermione's bed, enjoying the show.

Hermione tried to knee him in the groin but he blocked her move and punched her in the face. Hermione's head snapped back and banged into the wall behind her.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" he ordered. "I'm beginning to think that Malfoy was right and you're just an annoying Mudblood who needs to learn her place. Romilda's pregnant and she's moving in with me. You can get lost, I don't give a shit what anyone else thinks any more."

Ron backhanded Hermione hard across the face and she went flying, landing in a heap on the floor. He kicked her once in her side. "Go on, get out!"

Hermione tried to stand up but her head was spinning and she collapsed again. "Get out, I said!" Ron ordered, aiming another kick at her. Hermione shielded her torso and crawled out the room. Dragging herself up to sit against the wall in the hallway, she sat listening as Ron and Romilda mocked her nastily before getting down to business. After a few minutes, when they sounded distracted, Hermione peeked through the doorway. Seeing that they were paying no attention to her, she aimed her wand at them and stunned them both. She then applied a Healer's sleeping spell to them, which would keep them unconscious until she lifted it.

Forcing herself to her feet, she considered what she needed to do. Ron did not like her books 'cluttering up the place' and he thought her photographs of her family were 'creepy and weird' because they were Muggle pictures which did not move like wizarding photographs, so few of her belongings had been unpacked and most were still sitting in boxes in the spare room. She only needed to pack her clothes, shrink all the boxes and place everything in her beaded bag, which had long ago been charmed with undetectable expansion and feather-light charms.

Hermione staggered into the bedroom, clutching her ribs. She was fairly sure Ron had cracked at least one but did not want to take the time to check. All she wanted at that moment was to leave the flat as quickly as possible. She waved her wand and all her clothes sailed towards her, landing in neat piles on the dresser. Pulling out a couple of holdalls from the bottom of the wardrobe, both of which also had extension and feather-light charms on them, she waved her wand again. "Pack," she said and the clothes all sailed into one holdall, which she closed and shrunk. Then she summoned all her shoes, toiletries, cosmetics and other sundries, which she packed into the second holdall, with liberal cushioning charms so that nothing would break. Closing and shrinking the second holdall, she headed into the spare bedroom. She shrunk all her boxes and put them and the holdalls into her beaded bag.

Making a last sweep round the flat to make sure she had not forgotten anything, she paused in the doorway to the bedroom, looking at the unconscious couple in the bed. She desperately wanted to hex the living daylights out of both of them but suspected that if she did any damage to them, Ron would come after her with a vengeance. Disappointed not to be able to get any retribution, she turned to leave when a thought struck her and she paused. In her fifth year of Hogwarts, the Ministry had foisted a viciously unpleasant and vindictive woman on the school in the guise of a Defence teacher. As Dolores Umbridge had chosen not teach the students anything practical, they had formed a secret defence club. When one member of the club had snitched on them to Umbridge, Hermione's vengeance had seen the girl's face break out in boils spelling the word SNEAK across her face. Hermione dearly wanted to jinx Ron similarly, branding him with the word CHEATER, however, it occurred to her that she could adapt the jinx, so that it would embarrass Ron but not cause him any actual damage, thereby, not giving anyone reason to prosecute her for attacking a Pureblood. With a self-satisfied smirk on her face, she waved her wand and murmured a few words. Instead of actually being branded, Ron and Romilda would see CHEATER and TROLLOP respectively displayed across their faces every time they looked in a mirror. It was an illusion that no one else would be able to see and it should fade in about six months or so. Without a further glance backwards, Hermione left, lifting the sleeping charm on her way out.

Hermione immediately apparated away, not wanting to hang around outside the flat while she tried to work out where to go. She needed to tend to her injuries — in addition to the cracked rib, one eye was swollen shut from Ron's punch, she had a split lip from where he backhanded her, she could feel that she had painful bruises around her neck and she thought she might have a mild concussion from banging her head against the wall — and find somewhere safe to stay. After a few moments' consideration, Hermione apparated again, this time landing on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place, the home owned by her best friend, Harry Potter. Since she and Ron had started rowing Harry had distanced himself from her but Hermione was sure he would not turn her away under the present circumstances.

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When it swung open, she looked down to see Harry's house elf, Kreacher.

"What can Kreacher do for Missy Hermy?" he asked.

"You could let me in, please, Kreacher," she said.

Kreacher shook his head. "Kreacher is sorry, Missy Hermy, but Master has instructed Kreacher that he is not to be disturbed."

"Kreacher, I desperately need somewhere safe to stay for the night. Please could you ask Harry to let me in? I'll stay out his way — he won't even know I'm here, I promise," she begged.

Kreacher nodded. "Please wait, Missy Hermy."

He closed the door and went to speak to Harry, who was sitting chatting to the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall. Harry had instructed Kreacher that once their meeting began, they were not to be interrupted but as they were waiting for Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House to join them, the house elf figured it would be all right to talk to Harry now.

"What is it, Kreacher. Who was at the door?" asked Harry, seeing his house elf.

"It was Missy Hermy, Master. She wanted to come in. Kreacher told her that Master is not to be disturbed and Missy Hermy promised to stay out the way."

Harry sighed. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! Don't tell me she's had another row with Ron. Why does she have to be so difficult and make life so hard for him?"

"And of course you're sure Miss Granger is the one who is at fault," drawled Severus who had just exited the fireplace behind Harry.

Harry swung round to look at Severus. "Ron's always complaining about her nagging. She's always having a go at him."

"Well, if Mr Weasley says so then it must be true," replied Severus drily, exchanging a look with Minerva and Kingsley. They had all noticed over the last few months that Ron had become increasingly unpleasant towards Hermione, who in turn had become ever more quiet and withdrawn. They were all aware of Harry's penchant for siding with Ron against Hermione and were worried about the Muggle-born witch who, apart from Harry and the Weasleys, had no other family remaining.

Severus, Minerva and Kingsley were disturbed to note that Harry and the Weasleys seemed to be turning their backs on Hermione, although they did not think that it was done intentionally or maliciously. It was natural that the Weasleys would side with Ron, since he was family, and Harry could be unbelievably oblivious at times. Severus, Minerva and Kingsley had all offered Hermione their friendship but she had shut herself off from everyone, instead working increasing hours at St Mungo's. This was the perfect opening for Severus to express their concerns and he took it.

"And the fact that, unlike Mr Weasley, Miss Granger prefers not to put you in the middle, given your friendship with both of them, naturally means that she's in the wrong," he said acerbically.

"What are you implying, Snape?" Harry demanded.

"Nothing at all," he replied urbanely. "However, my experience of Miss Granger and Mr Weasley is that she is the more logical, reasonable and level-headed of the two. Not to mention more caring, loyal and generous. Or was it in fact Miss Granger who abandoned you during the Tri-wizard Tournament in your fourth year and again during the Horcrux hunt, and not Mr Weasley?"

Kingsley was particularly perturbed because Ron was in training to become an Auror and, as a former Auror himself, he did not feel that Ron's general attitude — and in particular his attitude towards the brilliant young witch who was so considerate towards others — made him a suitable candidate for the Auror Office. Kingsley therefore wanted to address this issue before Ron completed his training. He also felt it advisable to give Harry a timely reminder about not taking things at face value.

"Have you spoken to Hermione about it? As a trainee Auror, you must be aware of the need to hear both sides of the story and investigate any dispute properly," Kingsley inquired blandly.

"Well, I'm not getting involved! Kreacher, tell Hermione I'm in an important meeting and she'll have to come back tomorrow. Even better, tell her to go and apologise for whatever she's done this time!"

"And that's not getting involved?" asked Severus in incredulity. "I thought Miss Granger was your _friend_, Potter!"

Harry flushed, although Severus could not tell if it was in embarrassment or in anger.

In the meantime, Kreacher had returned to Hermione. "Master is in a meeting with Minister Shacks, Potions Master Snape and Mistress McGonagy and he can't disturbed by anyone, Missy Hermy," he apologised. "You is to come back tomorrow."

"I'm not just anyone, Kreacher! Please can you let me in? I don't have anywhere else to go. I promise I'll go right up to my room and I won't leave it until morning. You can lock me in and put silencing charms on the door so I can't hear anything," she implored, with tears running down her cheeks.

Kreacher hung his head sadly, as he had become very fond of Hermione, who was always kind to him. "Kreacher is very sorry. Master told Kreacher not to let Missy Hermy in because you should be nicer to the Wheezy. Master says Missy Hermy is to say sorry to the Wheezy."

Hermione nodded and turned away.

"Does Missy Hermy want Kreacher to heal her?" he asked, stopping her in her tracks.

"Please," she whispered brokenly.

Hermione felt the tingle of the house elf's magic healing her injuries. "Thank you, Kreacher. I appreciate all you've done for me. Goodbye, Kreacher," she said, before she twisted and apparated away.

In a daze, Hermione landed in the back yard of the Leaky Cauldron. After Ron's actions and with this final rejection from Harry, she decided she no longer had a reason to remain in the wizarding world which had caused her so much pain over the years. With her dissatisfaction over her relationship with Ron and the way she was treated at work, this was something she had often considered recently but, not wanting to lose the only family she had left, she had stayed, hoping that things would improve. This, however, was the final straw and she now saw no reason to remain in this world. Somewhere deep down she realised that she was perhaps not being entirely rational and that she should wait to make a decision until she was less emotional but, unable to think clearly, she let her instincts guide her and they were telling her to flee.

Operating entirely on auto-pilot, Hermione entered Diagon Alley and headed down towards Gringotts. Entering the bank, she made her way to a teller who was free. "I'd like to close my vault, please, and I'd like the monies to be transferred to my Muggle bank account."

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, the teller nodded and made the magical transfer for her as requested. Thanking the goblin for his assistance, Hermione turned round to leave, bumping into Draco Malfoy who was standing behind her.

"Moving all your funds to a Muggle bank account, Granger? Have you finally realised you're not welcome in the wizarding world?" he said coldly.

"Piss off, Malfoy!" she snapped, brushing past him to leave.

"I'm talking to you, Granger," he said imperiously, grabbing her arm.

Hermione rammed her elbow backwards hard into his gut and he folded in on himself, gasping for breath. "Well, I'm not talking to you, Malfoy. Now leave me alone," she growled and exited the bank.

This encounter with Draco Malfoy was the final straw and with growing resolution, Hermione went to the owl post office where she sent a letter to her supervisor at St Mungo's, handing in her notice with immediate effect and apologising for the short notice. She made one more stop and then left Diagon Alley, heading off to a café in Muggle London while she considered what she needed to do.

When she entered the café, Hermione visited the toilet and, securely locked in a cubicle, cast a diagnostic spell on herself. The exciting news that she had wanted to tell Ron was that she was pregnant. She had put it off because she had been in shock but now she needed to check that her baby was all right, after the kicking she had received from Ron. Breathing a sigh of relief when the diagnostic spell showed that the baby was in perfect health, Hermione mentally thanked Kreacher again for healing her.

However, Hermione was very worried about what would happen to her child if Ron ever found out about it. She had been horrified by the hatred Ron had just displayed towards her and she knew that he would be spiteful enough to try to claim the baby from her. Being both female and Muggle-born would count against her in a case brought before the Wizengamot by a Pureblood wizard and she would not stand a chance of being allowed to keep her child. She also convinced herself that if she was attacked by any of her enemies from the war, such as Malfoy, or even by Ron himself, who she now also counted as an enemy, no one would come to her aid. After all, if Harry Potter saw no reason to help her, his supposed best friend, then why should anyone else?

Fortunately, Hermione had done the pregnancy test herself privately and so there was no official record of her pregnancy yet, meaning that Ron would continue to remain unaware of it. Hermione blinked tears out of her eyes as she thought about her baby. It hurt badly to realise that Ron would not want this child, except as a means to spite her, and yet he was happily welcoming her baby's sibling through Romilda Vane. What hurt and terrified her even more was the realisation that if he could physically attack Hermione, even after all they had been through together and all that they had meant to each other, there was no telling what he might do to this child. Even if Romilda had been feeding Ron love potions, that did not justify or explain the violence he had shown towards her and she had no intention of putting herself or her unborn child in a position where it could happen again; she would not give Ron the opportunity to lay so much as a finger on her baby.

Sitting with a cup of tea, she came to a conclusion. _'I'm fed up with the wizarding world. I was only ever tolerated for Harry and Ron's sakes and now that I'm no longer useful to them, there's clearly no place for me there; Ron, Romilda, Harry and Malfoy just proved that. Hell, even though the war is over and was won by the light side, half the patients at St Mungo's refuse to be treated by me because I'm a Mudblood and the majority of the staff treat me like something on the bottom of their shoes. Barely anyone has a civil word for me these days. It's time to leave.'_

During the war, Hermione had set up a false identity for herself, just in case the war went badly and she would need to disappear into the Muggle world. At the same time as preparing her own false identity, Hermione had Obliviated her parents of all knowledge of her and the magical world and had sent them away to Australia with a new identity. She had done this knowing that she would never be able to restore their memories but her priority had been to keep them safe. She had even undertaken a ritual to change her parents' names magically. Aware that she would never be able to regain her parents after the Obliviation, she had completely severed their kinship with her before giving them new names. This meant that, magically, they could not be traced through any connection to her.

Hermione's new identity papers were still in a safety deposit box in a Muggle bank and now she would collect these and undertake the same ritual on her own behalf, changing her name to that of her secret identity. As far as magic was concerned, Hermione Granger would no longer exist and she would be free to leave the country and start over, without fear of being traced by Ron or anyone else from the wizarding world. Hermione knew that she was likely being paranoid but her gut instinct was telling her that she needed to do this, as much for her emotional and mental well-being as to protect herself and her unborn child. _'Constant vigilance!'_ she thought to herself, remembering the paranoid former Auror, Alastor Moody, whose favourite saying that had been.

Following the plan that she had prepared during the war, Hermione apparated from the café to the Muggle bank holding her safety deposit box. Emptying it, she removed cash, a credit card and a number of documents, all in the name of Nonie Gale. From there, she headed off to the nearest branch of the bank that held Hermione Granger's Muggle account. Checking at the ATM to be sure that her Gringotts funds had been deposited — _'Thank goodness for magic, everything happens instantly' _— she then made her way to a public telephone box and made a call to an old friend of her father's.

Todd Fox and John Granger had been friends since their schooldays, when they attended the same boarding school. Todd and John had become friends in their first year and had remained friends ever since, despite leading very different lives since leaving school. John had gone to university and qualified as a dentist while Todd had gone on to serve in the army. Todd was honourably discharged from the army after a distinguished career, including a term in the SAS — which John suspected but had never discussed with his friend — and had joined a top Risk & Security Consultancy.

When Hermione had approached Todd to help hide her parents, she had been stunned to learn that he was in fact a squib and knew all about magic. He made a point of keeping track of what was happening in the wizarding world in case Muggles may have to intervene and had indeed put two and two together, realising that his friend's daughter was the Muggle-born best friend of the infamous Boy-Who-Lived. Had Hermione not approached him herself, he had fully intended to contact her with regard to protecting her parents. Although he regretted the need to Obliviate her parents, he had agreed that it was the best option, which helped Hermione come to terms with her heart-breaking decision. He had taken care of everything: creating new identities for them, getting authentic paperwork in their new names (such as visas, passports, drivers' licences, birth certificates, a wedding certificate, dental qualifications etc) and selling their home and business and transferring the funds untraceably to their new accounts. He had also taken care of details that had not occurred to Hermione, such as creating a credit history for their new identities.

Todd had also provided Hermione with the necessary documents for Nonie Gale that she had just removed from her safety deposit box. He agreed to meet her when she called and she apparated to the location he suggested. There she explained that she was leaving Britain and the magical world immediately and she asked for his assistance in transferring untraceably the monies in the bank account of Hermione Granger to that of Nonie Gale. To her relief, he did not ask questions but merely promised to take care of everything for her straight away.

Before hiding her parents, Hermione had discussed magical banking with Ron's brother, Bill, a Gringotts employee, and had learned that magicals did not understand how to trace the movement of money in the Muggle world. The Auror Office may perhaps have a basic understanding of the concept but would not know how to trace money — and, therefore, people — themselves. Nor would the average Gringotts employee would be able to track money transfers made in the Muggle world by someone who knew how to hide their tracks, and Todd Fox most certainly knew how to do just that. Gringotts' top experts might possibly be able to trace the movement of the money from Hermione Granger's account — for a hefty fee, of course — but it was doubtful if they would cooperate with any such request without very good reason.

Hermione had paid reparations to Gringotts for the break-in during the war, unlike Harry and Ron — Ron felt that as 'saviours of the wizarding world' such things were beneath them and, as always, Harry went along with whatever Ron decreed — therefore, she was now on very good terms with the goblins, meaning that they would ignore any demands from the boys, who they regarded with extreme disfavour. Having no love for the Ministry of Magic, the goblins were equally unlikely to assist them in any such endeavour should Harry and Ron try to use official means to find her, unless the Ministry were to brand her a criminal, and she did not think that Harry, or even Ron, had sunk far enough as to do that. In fact, when Ron found out how much it would cost him to have Gringotts help find her, she was certain that he would wash his hands of her immediately.

_'What next?'_ she thought, after bidding farewell to Todd. _'I need to go somewhere I can do magic but I don't want to be seen by anyone from the wizarding world.'_

After a few moments' consideration, Hermione apparated to Epping Forest. There she cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm on herself and disappeared into the woodland. Double checking that there was no one around, Muggle or otherwise, she summoned a knife from her bag. Cutting her right palm, she held her wand in her bloodied hand and gave a magical oath: "I hereby declare on my magic that the name Hermione Jane Granger is no longer mine."

Sparks shot up from her wand and her hand was magically healed, indicating magic's confirmation of her declaration. Had Hermione merely changed her name, the name change would have registered at the Ministry. By dividing the ritual into two separate steps, the name Hermione Jane Granger ceased to exist in the Ministry's records at the moment of the first oath and a new name would come into being separately, unconnected to her previous name, only when she subsequently declared her new name by magical oath. Hermione intended to wait and make the second oath the next day in France, so that there would be no record in the British Ministry of a new name suddenly springing into being at exactly the same time as her previous name was no more. She was also hoping that by making the second oath in France, the record of her new name would appear at the French Ministry and not the British Ministry, just in case anyone was monitoring the records in Britain for the appearance of a new name.

She then apparated to Waterloo Station, where she bought a ticket on the next Eurostar train leaving for Paris. Boarding the train, she sank wearily into her seat. _'I really shouldn't be apparating while I'm pregnant because it can cause a miscarriage but I seem to be all right. No unwanted cramps. After apparating so many times today, the foetus would already be in distress if I were going to miscarry. When Kreacher healed me, I wonder if he might have also put some kind of protection on my womb? Still, there's no need apparate any more now.'_

Upon her arrival in Paris, Hermione again visited the toilets, where she pulled out one of her holdalls from her beaded bag, to make it look like she had luggage. She then made her way to a budget hotel recommended by Todd, where she checked in as Nonie Gale. Fortunately, the fact that according to magic she currently had no name did not send up any red flags with the Muggles. By now, it was early evening and, having dozed through the journey, Hermione was hungry, having had no more than a cup of tea since breakfast. Getting advice from the desk-clerk, she headed out to find an internet café, where, using Nonie Gale's credit card, she booked herself a plane ticket to Toronto, leaving in two days' time. She then bought herself some sandwiches before leaving the café and, exhausted and finally able to relax, she returned to her hotel to eat. Relaxing was out of the question, however: although determined not to, she cried herself to sleep over the events of the day and the betrayal of her two best friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 2**

Waking up early the next morning, Hermione erected wards on her hotel room and repeated the blood oath ritual from the day before. Cutting the palm of her hand again, she held her wand and made her second oath: "I hereby declare on my magic that henceforth my name is Nonie Gale."

Once again, magic accepted her oath and, just to be sure, she cast a Patronus, grateful to see that her magic was still as strong as ever. What surprised her, however, was that her Patronus had now changed. She knew that significant emotional events could cause a patronus to change and she had certainly undergone significant emotional upheaval since the previous day. No longer was her Patronus the playful otter it had been in her childhood, it was now a lioness prowling around the room. She recognised that this probably reflected the fact that she would fight like a lioness to protect the baby growing inside her. This, after all, was the most precious thing to her and the main reason she was leaving the wizarding world, even more than her distress over the way she had been treated by Harry and Ron.

Hermione believed strongly in a father's right to know his child. However, she also believed even more strongly in doing what was in the best interest of the child: children were innocents who should be protected and kept safe. If a man would use his fists once, he would use them again. Putting a child in a potentially abusive situation was not in its best interest; adding magic to that equation could easily make the degree and type of abuse worse. Hermione shuddered to think what Ron might have done to her had he had a wand in his hand when he attacked her the day before.

Resolutely putting all thought of Ron out of her mind, Hermione fondly admired her new Patronus until it faded and then decided it was time to go out and do some errands. Her first stop was at a Muggle beauty salon, where she requested a makeover and put herself completely in the hands of the stylists. The hairdresser looked delighted at the thought of getting her hands on Hermione's mane. She advised Hermione that her hair was always bushy because she tried to brush out the curls and recommended that Hermione instead let it fall into natural ringlets, explaining that she should only brush her hair just before she washed it, to get the tangles out. This was not the first hairdresser to give that advice to Hermione but in the past, the goody-goody young girl with the penchant for following the rules and doing what was proper had been scandalised at the thought of not brushing her hair every day! Older, wiser and far less prissy than in her youth, Hermione now took the hairdresser's recommendation on board.

The hairdresser also gave Hermione tips for simple day-to-day maintenance and care of her curly hair. Allowing the hairdresser free rein, her hair was cut into a jaunty bob, which fell just below chin length and curled riotously. The hairdresser also punched some colour into Hermione's mousy brown hair by adding a mixture of blonde and red highlights. Next, she was given quick and simple make-up tips by the salon's beautician and purchased the basic makeup kit recommended by the beauty consultant. Finally, the beautician suggested some boutiques to help Hermione change her look and she paid them a visit as well, buying some young and funky clothes that no one who knew Hermione Granger would ever imagine she might wear. Nonie Gale now looked nothing like Hermione Granger and Hermione was thrilled with her new look. _'A new look for a new life,'_ she thought happily.

After that, she spent the day browsing bookstores and street stalls before retiring to her hotel for an early night. She checked out bright and early in the morning and made her way to Charles de Gaulle airport to catch her flight to Canada.

Neither of Hermione's friends had ever shown any interest in her family. Harry because he was usually too busy fighting for his life to care about much else, and Ron because he had no interest whatsoever in Hermione's life outside the wizarding world, or indeed, anyone or anything Muggle. Although he had enough sense not to say so to Hermione, he had been singularly undisturbed by the absence of her parents, deeming them unimportant because they were Muggles. Therefore, no one in the wizarding world knew that Hermione Granger actually had dual British/Canadian citizenship, due to her mother having been born in Québec Province in Canada. Although Hélène Granger had lived in Britain since the age of twelve, she had made sure that Hermione could speak fluent French. None of Hermione's friends were aware of her language skills — not even Bill's wife, Fleur, herself a witch from France.

As the daughter of a Canadian, Hermione was a Canadian citizen by descent and her identity as Nonie Gale was also as a dual British/Canadian citizen. Although she no longer had any living relatives in either Canada or Britain, she now intended to move to permanently to French Canada, knowing that it would not occur to anyone in the wizarding world to look for her anywhere other than an English-speaking region. In fact, efforts would probably focus on Australia, since Hermione had told Harry and Ron that she had sent her parents there. Although this was in fact true, the assumed names she had given Harry and Ron — Monica and Wendell Wilkins — were not. In their fifth year of Hogwarts, Harry had failed spectacularly at learning Occlumency and Ron had never shown any interest in it, so Hermione, who had quietly taught herself, did not feel able to entrust Harry and Ron with her parents' safety in case they were captured during the war and the information was taken from them. Neither boy had ever shown any interest in her parents since, not even to ask about retrieving them, and so she had never supplied them with any further information. As such, looking in Australia for Monica and Wendell Wilkins would not help them find either Hermione or her parents.

Arriving in Toronto, Hermione again checked into a budget hotel and went to sleep. Waking up refreshed the next day, she decided it was time to pay a visit to the magical district, as she wanted to buy a new wand, since she was sure that if asked, Mr Ollivander, the British wandmaker, would give Harry or the Ministry the details of her current wand, including the wand signature, and she did not want to be traced by it. She had researched the whereabouts of the magical district back when she first decided to plan an escape route to Canada during the war and so knew exactly where to go and how to enter the sheltered area. Fortunately, she would not need a wand to enter, as she intended to leave hers at the hotel. She wanted to buy a new wand and did not want the wandmaker to sense that she already had another wand with her because this would not fit her cover story.

Locating the wandmaker, Hermione entered the shop. "I'd like to buy a new wand, please," she said to the shopkeeper.

"You're British from the sound of it. May I ask what happened to your previous wand?"

Realising he was probably being careful in case she was an escaped Death Eater, she casually pushed up her sleeves to show that she had no Dark Mark as she gave her cover story. "I'm a Muggle-born witch. I lost my wand when I escaped Britain — I barely managed to escape with my life. I've been travelling the world since then — I thought it would be a good idea to keep moving — but it's time to settle down in one place again. I'm not sure if I'll be staying in Canada but I'm ready to replace my wand. I have some galleons or a Muggle credit card. Do you accept either of those?"

"Indeed I do," he smiled, relieved both by the lack of Dark Mark on her arm and also by the mention of the credit card, since he was sure that no Death Eater would even know what that was. "I accept both. We use both wizarding and non-magical currency here in Canada. Now, if you're British, you'll be used to Ollivander's method of letting witches and wizards try out different wands until they find one that suits them. I do have ready made wands available to try but I also offer custom wands, for a slightly higher price."

"How long do the custom wands take to make, Mister…?" Hermione asked, not sure how long she wanted to stay in Toronto.

"Curran. Boyce Curran. If you choose the materials today, I can have it ready for you tomorrow," he said.

"That sounds perfect, Mr Curran. I'm Nonie Gale. How do we do this?" she asked curiously.

"Follow me, Miss Gale" he said, leading her to his workroom. "You'll find different woods in that box. Put your hand in — don't look! — and see what calls to you. Don't worry if you end up picking out more than one."

Hermione did as instructed. Rummaging through the box she could feel two magical signatures calling to her. She grabbed the first, laying the piece of wood down on the workbench, and then put her hand back inside to find the other.

"Cedar and rowan," said the wandmaker, glancing at the pieces of wood she had selected. "An interesting combination. Both make wands which are ideal for defence and protection."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the man but he just indicated another box. "Cores are in there. Given that you've selected two different woods, I rather think you'll end up choosing two different cores as well."

Sure enough, the wandmaker was correct, and Hermione ended up choosing a dragon heartstring, like both her first and her current wand, and a single coarse hair stored in an unbreakable potions vial that at first glance she could not identify. "What kind of hair is that?" she asked curiously.

"Oh my," the wandmaker said. "That's a hair from the tuft at the end of the tail of a griffin. My great-grandfather was gifted that hair from the creature — just that one hair and nothing else. I was beginning to think no one would ever choose it. This is going to be a very powerful wand indeed, Miss Gale."

"I've never heard of griffin hair being used as wand cores," she said in astonishment.

"No, Ollivander only uses the three main cores: dragon heartstring, phoenix feather and unicorn hair. Besides, it's rare for a griffin to offer hair or feathers to a wandmaker." The man scribbled something down on a scrap of parchment and handed it to her. "This is the name of a book about wand-making; I think you might find it interesting."

"Thank you," Hermione smiled at the man. Paying him in advance for the wand, she took her leave and headed for the bookshop, to find the book he had recommended.

Preferring not to spend much time in the magical district, Hermione headed back out into mundane Toronto to do some sight-seeing. Once back in her hotel that evening, Hermione took out the book on wand-making that she had bought and looked up the various woods and cores that comprised her wands — her first wand, her current wand and the custom wand now being made for her. Her very first wand, at the age of eleven, had been of vine wood and dragon heartstring. She had loved that wand but it had been taken from her during the war. Afterwards, it had been replaced by one of walnut and, again, dragon heartstring. Hermione was amused to note that all three wands had dragon heartstring cores. _'I guess that core must really suit me,'_ she mused, turning to look it up in the book.

.

_As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.¹_

.

_'Dragon heartstring is very powerful and wands with that core learn quickly, just like I do. That's good, I wouldn't have the patience to wait for the wand to catch up with me. Hmm, and it bonds strongly with its owner. That's like me then. Not that I have an owner, of course, but I do tend to bond with the people who I'm close to. Not that anyone would know that, given that I'm all alone now._ _I guess that just because I bond strongly with other people, it doesn't mean that they bond with me in return,'_ Hermione thought sadly.

Trying not to dwell on her current circumstances, Hermione turned to the section on wand woods, characteristically deciding to be methodical and look up the different woods in chronological order of her purchase of each wand.

.

_Vine: The druids considered anything with a woody stem as a tree, and vine makes wands of a very special nature. Vine wands are among the less common types, and their owners are nearly always those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. Vine wands seem strongly attracted by personalities with hidden depths, and are more sensitive than any other when it comes to instantly detecting a prospective match. Reliable sources claim that these wands can emit magical effects upon the mere entrance into their room of a suitable owner.¹_

.

_'Hmph! My first wand was the very first one I tried. Mr Ollivander handed that wand to me practically the moment I entered his shop. I wonder if he could tell that the wand had matched itself to me as soon as I walked in? That wand certainly suited me back then. Helping Harry defeat Voldemort and wanting to change the magical world was definitely a greater purpose. Well, I'm older and wiser now and I realise that wizarding Britain doesn't want to change. They just want to carry on in exactly the same way until the next Dark Lord or Lady arises. And I'm leaving them to it,'_ she thought guiltily.

Hermione sighed. _'I have other things to worry about right now than a hidebound and antiquated society that doesn't even want me to be part of it. I'm going to be selfish now and put myself and my baby first. No wonder vine doesn't suit me any more. So what's next? Walnut.'_

Hermione looked at her wand and shuddered. During the war, she and the boys had been captured by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor for questioning. Hermione's vine wand had been confiscated from her and in their escape, they had made off with the wand of one of the most insane and evil Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione had used Bellatrix's wand until the end of the war but she had hated it — and the wand had hated her. As soon as the war was over, she had handed in Bellatrix's wand to the Ministry, who on feeling the Dark Magic imbued within the wand, had decided to destroy it. When Hermione had gone to replace her wand after the war, she had been dismayed to find herself being chosen by a walnut and dragon heartstring wand, just like that of Bellatrix. Even though Hermione's wand did not feel malevolent, it still gave her the heebie-jeebies to have such a similar wand to the notorious witch.

.

_Walnut: Highly intelligent witches and wizards ought to be offered a walnut wand for trial first, because nine times out of ten, they will find in each other their ideal mate. Walnut wands are often found in the hands of magical innovators and inventors; this is a handsome wood possessed of unusual versatility and adaptability. A note of caution, however: while some woods are difficult to dominate, and may resist the performance of spells that are foreign to their natures, the walnut wand will, once subjugated, perform any task its owner desires, provided that the user is of sufficient brilliance. This makes for a truly lethal weapon in the hands of a witch or wizard of no conscience, for the wand and the wizard may feed from each other in a particularly unhealthy manner.¹_

.

_'So walnut wands are suitable for witches and wizards who are highly intelligent. Not to blow my own trumpet, but that's me. Walnut wands are good for magical innovators and inventors. That could also have been me once but no more; my priorities have changed now. Versatile and flexible — that's good, but I sort of get that in the wand's core, as dragon wands learn quickly. But that bit about the wand being a lethal weapon in the hands of a user with no conscience and it having an unhealthy symbiosis with it's owner… no thanks!'_

Hermione had never been truly happy with this wand, although she had tried telling herself that she should be pleased since it would be one up on Bellatrix Lestrange, who would be furious to know that Hermione had the same wand type as her, and she now determined to destroy this wand when she got her new one the following day. _'I know there's nothing bad or evil about this wand but I'm just not comfortable with it. I don't want it around me.'_

Putting Bellatrix and the walnut wand out of her mind, she looked up cedar and rowan.

.

_One who carries a cedar wand, has strength of character and unusual loyalty. The cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. The owner of a cedar wand is not one to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them.¹_

_Rowan wood has always been much-favoured because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and can render all manner of defensive charms especially strong and difficult to break. It is commonly stated that no Dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand. Rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure hearted, but this reputation for virtue ought not to fool anyone — these wands are the equal of any, often the better, and frequently out-perform others in duels.¹_

.

_'Well, I can't be particularly perspicacious or perceptive if I didn't realise that Ron must have been cheating on me for a while with Romilda, if she's already pregnant and moving in with him. I guess I haven't been particularly clear-headed either. Luna would say I've been befuddled by Wrackspurts. Or was it Nargles?'_ she snorted. _'Am I pure-hearted? I'm not sure — if I had the opportunity for revenge right now, I'm not sure that I wouldn't take it… which, of course, is why the cedar called to me. What was is the book said? _The owner of a cedar wand is not one to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary._ Well, that's me! That's definitely me! Ron did call me scary but brilliant once and if he crosses me again, he'll find out just how true that description is! Especially if he tries to harm my child. And, of course, rowan is about defence and protection and I would most certainly fight to protect this precious baby. I don't know if those woods would have chosen me a week ago but they're certainly appropriate now.'_

Closing the book, Hermione reached for her beaded bag to put it away when she remembered. _ 'Oh, I nearly forgot! The griffin hair!'_

Opening the book again she looked it up.

.

_The griffin, griffon, or gryphon has the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion is traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin is thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature, the king of creatures even. Like Sphinxes, griffins are used by wizards as guards, in particular for treasure and priceless possessions.¹_

_Although known as fierce creatures, skilled wizards have been known to befriend them.² Griffins rarely offer anything of themselves for wands (griffin parts may be taken from a deceased animal for use as potions ingredients, however, for use as a wand core, the parts must be freely offered) but when they do, the wand will be exceptionally strong and powerful in healing magic if a feather or claw is used as the core, since a griffin's claw has medicinal properties and a feather can restore sight to the blind. The wand will be equally strong and powerful in defensive magic if a hair is offered, since the lion is a strong and dangerous animal, and the griffin is a formidable guardian. However, only the most talented and skilled witch or wizard would be able to wield a wand with a griffin core and it is said that such a wand will only bond with a witch or wizard who a griffin would deem worthy of befriending.³_

.

_'Wow!'_ she thought, in shock. _'I'm worthy of being befriended by a griffin? That's such an honour! But that is going to be one formidable wand if I should ever need to use it in defence. I know Ron and I always fought a lot but I never thought I'd ever see him as a threat they way I must do now, given the materials I chose for my wand. I wonder what happened to change him or was it always there under the surface and I just didn't see it? I wish now I'd thought to take the Deluminator from him.'_

The Deluminator, or Put-Outer, had belonged to Albus Dumbledore, who had left it to Ron when he died. Professor Dumbledore had charmed it to turn it into a kind of portkey that when Ron's name was spoken by either Harry or Hermione during the war, it would lead Ron to them. _'I don't know how long the location charm will last, so I have to be careful not to speak his name again — not that I have reason to now.'_

As Hermione lay trying to sleep that night, something occurred to her. _'The griffin is half eagle and half lion. The Sorting Hat had a hard time choosing between the Ravenclaw (the Eagle's Nest) or Gryffindor (the Lion's Den) for me, and my Patronus has changed to a lioness. I wonder if all that is somehow connected to the griffin hair choosing me? Well, I don't suppose I'll ever know for sure but it's a nice thought, anyway, that somehow, no matter how obscurely, it's all connected.'_

The following day, Hermione went to pick up her custom wand from the wandmaker. The two woods had been carved and blended together seamlessly. The wand was surprisingly flexible, given that it was a blend of two different woods, and yet it was deceptively strong. It was an exquisite piece of art.

"I was always told that Mr Ollivander is the very best wandmaker but I can't imagine him ever creating a masterpiece like this, Mr Curran," Hermione said to the wandmaker in awe, as she picked it up. The wand immediately warmed in her hand and she could feel it connecting to and bonding with her magic, making her gasp at the surge of raw power running through her. "I think I'll need to be very careful using this wand until I become accustomed to it," she added.

"I have a shielded duelling room," the man offered. "I make all the particularly powerful wands — like yours! — in there for safety's sake. You could use it to practise for a while, if you would like, Miss Gale."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that very much," she smiled at him.

He ushered Hermione into the shielded room and she spent an hour accustoming herself to the power of her new wand. She was quite surprised by how quickly she became used to it but she could feel it working in tandem with her magic and understood that was why she could control it so easily.

Heading back into the shop, Hermione paid double what the man asked for her wand. "I insist," she said when he tried to demur. "This is a magnificent wand and you've been very helpful to me."

The wandmaker accepted the full amount but threw in a free wand holster with it. "It's Auror grade, with invisibility, anti-theft and anti-summoning charms," he explained.

Hermione smiled in appreciation and immediately strapped it on, loading her fine, new wand into the holster.

The wandmaker chuckled. "Tell me, Miss Gale. Were you by any chance a Gryffindor?"

"Yes, I was," she grinned. "Perhaps my being a Gryffindor lion is the reason that the griffin offered a tail hair, rather than a feather or a claw. Interestingly, I was considering being a Healer but not any more. I'm not sure what I want to do now."

"You could be an exceptional Auror with that wand, I'm sure. Your wand would be almost invincible in a duel."

Hermione shook her head. "I've had enough of fighting. I'll defend myself if attacked but I have no intention of going looking for trouble."

The wandmaker raised an eyebrow in surprise, which Hermione understood given the nature of her wand. She smiled sadly. "You said that the griffin gave the hair to your great-grandfather. Do you know anything about the griffin it came from?"

"Indeed I do. It's so rare for a griffin to offer part of itself that it's quite the family legend. My great-grandfather didn't even go to the griffin to ask for anything. He just wanted to see it as he'd never seen one before, and the griffin offered the hair."

"Did he happen to mention if the griffin was male or female?"

"Yes, he did. It was female. It was pregnant, I believe…" The man's voice trailed off as he made the connection. "I understand," was all he said.

Hermione thanked him profusely and bade him farewell. As she made her way back out of the magical district, she stopped for a moment at a stand selling international wizarding newspapers. Taking a deep breath she picked up a _Daily Prophet_ and tucked it under her arm. Paying for the paper, she decided that it was time to make a decision about her next move. Before she could do that, however, she felt that she needed to see what was happening in Britain. It was nearly a week since she had left and she wanted to know if there was mention of her disappearance.

Sitting down at a café near the wand-maker's shop, she read the paper over a bottle of Butterbeer. To her relief, there was only a small mention in the _Prophet_, but she decided it was time to leave the magical district in case anyone should recognise her from the photograph that accompanied the article, despite her new look.

.

_'It has emerged that Hermione Granger has quit her job at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with no notice. Not only that, but it would appear that Miss Granger's relationship with her friend and fellow war hero, Ronald Weasley, is no more. Miss Granger has not been seen for nearly a week and Mr Draco Malfoy, who saw her in Gringotts Wizarding Bank the day she quit her job, claims that the war heroine must have left the wizarding world since he heard her close her vault at Gringotts and request that all her money be transferred into her Muggle bank account. Given the long history of animosity between the two, is that wishful thinking on Mr Malfoy's part or is he correct that Miss Granger has in fact left the wizarding world? When asked, Miss Granger's close friend, Harry Potter, declined to comment, whereas Mr Weasley has been seen with fellow Gryffindor, Romilda Vane, on his arm and seems quite unconcerned by the seeming disappearance of his former girlfriend.'_

.o.O.o.

¹·⁰ ¹·¹ ¹·² ¹·³ ¹·⁴ ¹·⁵ ¹·⁶ Taken from/paraphrased from _Pottermore_ and the Harry Potter wikia.

² Taken from/paraphrased from both _Wikipedia_ and the Harry Potter wikia.

³ All the information about the griffin parts regarding potions and wand-making is completely fictional on my part and does not come from canon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 3**

Back in Britain, on the day Hermione had left, the subject of Hermione had been raised again, this time by Minerva, after the meeting with her, Kingsley, Severus and Harry was over. "I'm worried about her, Harry. Haven't you noticed how withdrawn and unhappy she is?"

"Well, perhaps if she'd make an effort to get up and go out with Ron and spend time with his friends instead of sulking in the flat all the time, she might not be so withdrawn!" he snapped.

"Interesting choice of words there, Potter. _His_ friends. Is Miss Granger expected to go and watch Messrs Weasley, Thomas and Finnigan get drunk at the pub until all hours every night? You do realise, don't you, that as a Healer, even a trainee, she can't afford to be tired and hungover at work or she might accidentally kill someone? Hell, even Weasley can't afford to be tired and hungover every day or he'll be thrown out of the Auror training programme," Severus commented bitingly.

Kingsley nodded. "Harry, Ron actually is on the verge of being thrown out the training programme due to his poor attitude. He continually arrives late and leaves early, he's lazy, sloppy, disrespectful, arrogant and egotistical. There's no place for ego in an Auror, Harry. You have to be able to rely on your partner and every single trainee apart from you has requested not to be paired with him because they don't feel they can do that. I have his trainers complaining to me about him on a daily basis. I know that the three of you played a very important part in the war but you weren't the only ones fighting, you know, and Ron's no more special than you, Hermione or Neville Longbottom, no matter what he may think."

Minerva took up the baton again. "Harry, there's something badly wrong with both Hermione and Ron and we're very worried."

Harry sighed and walked over to the fireplace. Throwing some floo power into the fire, he called out "Ron's flat!" and stuck his head in the flames.

"_Ron's_ flat?" murmured Kingsley, exchanging a meaningful glance with Minerva and Severus. "I thought both Ron _and_ Hermione lived there?"

"Supposedly," drawled Severus, his usual impassive expression deserting him and a worried look entering his eyes.

In the meantime, Harry was trying to contact Hermione through the floo. "Hello, hello?" Harry called, once Ron and Hermione's living room came into view. "Hermione? Are you there?"

"What's all the noise about?" grumbled Ron grumpily, as he ambled out the bedroom in his boxers.

"Hey, Ron. Hermione came round my place earlier but I couldn't talk to her then, so I sent her away. Can I have a word with her?"

"What did she want with you? Was she going to complain about me again?"

"I don't know what she wanted, Ron. I couldn't talk to her then. Where is she? Could you get her for me?" said Harry in frustration.

"She's not here. She upped and left."

"Why? Is it anything to do with the fact that Romilda Vane is standing behind you half naked?"

Ron scowled unpleasantly. "Look, I don't know where the stupid bint is. I kicked her out. She should be grateful to me for teaching her a lesson because no one else will interested in her until she learns her place!"

"Teaching her a lesson? Learns her place? What the fuck do you mean by that, Ron?"

"Just what I said, mate!"

"You'd better not have hurt her, Ron, or we will never be _mates_ again, be very sure of that." Harry broke the connection and sat back on his heels looking shocked. Quickly he recounted the conversation for the benefit of the others and then began to shake as realisation hit him.

"She came to me for help and I didn't let her in! Kreacher!" he called.

The elf popped into the room and Harry frantically began to question him. "Did Hermione say where she was going, Kreacher? Was she all right?"

"Missy Hermy didn't say where she was going, Master, but she let Kreacher heal her before she left," the elderly elf explained.

"Heal?" Harry went white.

"What was wrong with Miss Granger, Kreacher?" Kingsley interjected calmly. Inwardly he was appalled and very worried, but the last thing they needed right now was for Harry, who was very much a creature of emotion, to explode.

"Missy Hermy had a black eye, a cut lip, bruises on her throat, a cracked rib and a mild concussion," Kreacher listed all Hermione's injuries.

"And you say you healed her?" Severus asked, to make sure.

"Yes, Potions Master Snape. Kreacher healed Missy Hermy and gave her elf protections," he nodded.

"We need to find her!" Harry jumped up and whirled around towards the door.

"Wait a minute. WAIT!" Severus snapped, as Kingsley grabbed Harry and held him back. "Where are you planning to look? Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

Harry deflated noticeably. "No," he said in a small voice. "Apart from here, there's only the Burrow, I think, but I can't imagine she would have gone there under the circumstances. Perhaps her parents but I don't know where they live. She doesn't talk about them."

Severus raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What?" demanded Harry.

"Are you really that much of an imbecile?" Snape demanded scornfully.

"Severus," said Minerva wearily.

"Potter," Severus said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he visibly tried to rein in his temper. "The Obliviation was irreversible. Miss Granger knew that before she performed it but did it anyway to keep her parents safe. Did you really think an Obliviation of that magnitude would be a simple matter to reverse?"

"But… but she never said," Harry stammered.

"She didn't tell you during the war because she needed you to be focused and not feeling guilty but, after the war, did you ever ask why she hadn't gone to retrieve her parents?" Minerva queried.

"I didn't think," Harry whispered, shamefaced.

"Precisely. You didn't think. Just like you didn't think that perhaps whatever was wrong with Miss Granger and Mr Weasley's relationship wasn't entirely Miss Granger's fault, if at all."

"Kreacher," said Minerva, interrupting Severus' tirade before he could work up a full head of steam. "Can you find Miss Granger?"

"No, Mistress McGonagy. Kreacher can no longer trace Missy Hermy's magic. Missy Hermy would need to call Kreacher before Kreacher can find her."

"Perhaps she's at work," suggested Kingsley. "She's been spending a lot of time there while Ron goes out and gets drunk every night," he added pointedly.

"It'll be more discreet if I go. Anyone who sees me there will think it's to do with the supply of potions," suggested Severus. "Besides, I doubt she'll want to see Potter right now."

He flooed to St Mungo's and made his way over to the Welcome Witch, who he noticed was a former student of his from Slytherin.

"Is Trainee Healer Granger on duty?" he demanded.

The witch checked her records. "No she left early today, Professor."

"In that case, I need to speak to her supervisor."

"Why? What has the Mudblood done wrong? If you want to make a complaint, you can do it through me," she said eagerly.

"First of all, Miss Bullstrode, if you ever repeat that foul epithet in my presence again, I can assure you that you will most certainly regret it," he hissed menacingly and the witch reared back in fear. "Secondly, I have no intention whatsoever of making a complaint against Miss Granger. Thirdly, the reason I wish to speak to her supervisor is none of your business. Now point me in the direction of her supervisor immediately!"

"Healer Pye in the Dai Llewellyn ward," she squeaked.

Severus stalked off and managed to corner Augustus Pye. "I'm looking for Hermione Granger," he said.

"Oh," replied Healer Pye. "I'm afraid she quit, Professor Snape. Rather suddenly, too. I just got an owl from her a short while ago informing me that she was resigning with immediate effect."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose again. "And she gave no prior indication that she was unhappy here or thinking of leaving?"

Healer Pye regarded Severus for a long minute. "Come with me," he said, gesturing for Severus to follow him.

Severus raised an eyebrow but did as requested. Augustus Pye ushered Severus into an office, where he shut the door and warded it so that no one could interrupt them. He then added silencing charms for good measure, much to Severus' surprise.

"I shouldn't really say anything but I like Miss Granger. I think she has a lot of potential and it's a shame to see that go unrealised. Unfortunately, despite the recent war and Miss Granger's role in it, she was still looked down upon. Many of the patients refused to be treated by her because she is Muggle-born and, for that same reason, there were very few members of staff willing to take her on as a trainee. Personally, I think the Muggle world has much to offer and I was delighted to be her supervisor but I know that she found it frustrating that attitudes towards her still haven't changed. Very few Muggle-borns manage to make it all the way through Healer training — they see little point in continuing if patients refuse to be treated by them — so while I was disappointed that she resigned, I wasn't surprised, and I wish her luck in her next endeavour."

"Would you mind if I saw her letter of resignation? She didn't discuss her intentions with any of her friends and she seems to have disappeared. I'm sure it's only to lick her wounds while she debates her next move but Minister Shacklebolt, Headmistress McGonagall and I are worried about her."

"I'm afraid I can't show you the letter, Professor Snape, and I've already said more than I should have, but I can tell you that the letter came with an owl from the owl post office, if that is of assistance to you."

"Thank you, Healer Pye. That is indeed of assistance." Severus bade the other man farewell and flooed from St Mungo's to Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, the employees in the owl post office could do no more than tell him that Hermione had sent an owl to Healer Pye at St Mungo's, which he already knew, and at what time. Exiting the store, he glanced over at Gringotts.

_'If she chose to move out of Weasley's flat, she would need somewhere else to live, which means she would need a deposit,'_ he considered. However, knowing that the goblins would not give out information to him freely, he put that to the back of his mind, resolving to discuss with Kingsley and Minerva the best way to approach the goblins. _'Perhaps Bill Weasley could help?'_ he pondered, as he strode into the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to Grimmauld Place.

"Uncle Sev! Come and help us celebrate!" came a well-known voice.

Sighing he made his way across the bar to his godson, Draco Malfoy. "And what exactly are you celebrating, Draco?" he asked the blond man, who was sitting with a couple of his friends from school. _"At least Goyle and Zabini are sober,"_ he thought exasperatedly as he took in the state of his godson.

"The Mudblood's gone!" Draco exclaimed.

Seeing that Draco was in no fit state to explain that statement, Severus looked at Blaise Zabini with a raised eyebrow.

"Draco claims that he overheard Granger closing her vault at Gringotts and transferring it to her Muggle bank account," Blaise explained.

Casting a silent, wandless, Notice-Me-Not charm, he bent down until he was nose to nose with his godson and snarled to the drunken, young man. "Do not call Miss Granger, or any other Muggle-born, that word in my presence, Draco. Miss Granger is worth a hundred of you. She fought and bled for our world. She has always strived to better our world. What have you done, hmm, Draco? Apart from squealing that you'll run to your father if anyone so much as looks at you cross-eyed? What have you done for the betterment of our world or even merely for the betterment of your family? Nothing, would that be correct? Since you finished Hogwarts, what have you actually achieved apart from drinking away your inheritance? And don't try and tell me it's because you had such a hard time during the war. There are many others who had just as hard a time, if not worse than yourself, but they haven't let it break them. I'm ashamed of you, Draco Malfoy, and I suggest you get up off that worthless backside of yours, sort yourself out and stop behaving like a useless wastrel."

Draco gulped in trepidation and Severus back up, satisfied that his words had been heard. "That applies to all you… _gentlemen_," he drawled sarcastically, looking at Draco's companions, before swirling around and heading back to the floo.

In the meantime, Minerva had suggested to Harry that he try to owl Hermione. "You could send her a message begging forgiveness and asking her to come back."

"Yes! I'll do that!" he cried, running over to the desk at the side of the room and scribbling quickly on a piece of paper. A moment later, Kreacher appeared with a Great Grey owl, which had in fact been a gift from Hermione.

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Harry. "Jasper, will you take this to Hermione, please?"

Harry fastened the letter to the owl's leg but Jasper did not move. "What's wrong, Jasper?" he asked, his voice shrill with worry. "Go on. Take it to Hermione."

The owl just sat without moving and Minerva and Kingsley exchanged concerned looks.

"What is it? Why won't he take the letter?" Harry demanded.

"Hermione might have charmed herself so that messenger birds can't find her," Minerva explained.

"Might have?"

"It's the most logical explanation," said Kingsley with resignation.

At that moment, Severus returned and explained what he had learned.

"The goblins aren't going to tell us anything unless Hermione had been convicted of a crime, and even then it would only be if they felt like helping us," observed Kingsley ruefully.

"So what do we do next?" demanded Harry.

"We look in the Muggle world. I'll see if I can find anyone discreet with the skill to do that," said Kingsley.

"'That's it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Unless you have any other suggestions," said Minerva dryly.

"Harry, we're not giving up on this but for all we know, Hermione will turn up safe and sound tomorrow. We'll look for her but, right now, I'm not prepared to make Hermione's disappearance public. If, as Severus suggests, she's merely gone away for a few days to lick her wounds and regroup, then I doubt she'd appreciate it if we did. I think we owe her that consideration. We should wait a day or two before we start stirring up a storm," Kingsley consoled the messy-haired younger man.

"Harry, in the meantime, why don't you contact some of her other friends — carefully! — and see if she has sought refuge with them? Miss Lovegood, perhaps?" Minerva suggested.

"All right," he agreed disconsolately.

Severus and Minerva departed back to Hogwarts and Kingsley to the Ministry. Kingsley had indicated that he would join the other two shortly so, upon arrival in Minerva's office, she called for tea and sat down with Severus to await his arrival.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "The other reason why the owl would not take the letter would be because Miss Granger is… no more."

"I know. I just hope she hasn't done anything drastic," said Minerva, worry written clearly across her face.

"I doubt it. She would not otherwise have transferred her money to her Muggle bank account. She has no one in the Muggle world to leave her money to. She would have been more likely to have left it for the betterment of house elves or to Hogwarts if she had no further use for her money. I think Draco is right and she has left the magical world. I can hardly blame her, under the circumstances."

Twenty minutes the floo flared and Kingsley arrived, looking sombre. "According to magic, the name Hermione Jane Granger no longer exists," he announced as he sat down heavily in a chair. "She definitely hasn't died; there would be a record of that. I would say that she has magically changed her name, except there would be a record of that, too. I'm not sure what's happened to her."

"Are you sure there would be a record? After all, Sirius Black spent twelve years in Azkaban for murdering Peter Pettigrew and Pettigrew was alive all that time," Minerva reminded him.

"That was because all records to do with Sirius, Pettigrew, Harry and his parents had been sealed by Albus to try and keep Harry safe. So, while there actually were records showing that Pettigrew was in fact alive, no one was able to see them. The goblins may have been aware he was still alive but I doubt anyone asked, and they wouldn't have volunteered the information," replied Kingsley.

"So what do we do now?" ask Minerva regretfully.

"We try to look for her in the Muggle world. The Auror Office has connections with the Muggle police. I'll ask them for recommendations regarding a private detective who could search for us. I can't ask the police force themselves, as no crime has been committed," said Kingsley thoughtfully.

"I also have some connections in the Muggle world," interjected Severus. "Not very respectable connections, but they may be able to assist in ways that more reputable sources might not."

With that, the three most preeminent members of the British wizarding world parted company, each returning to their own abodes where they all worried about Hermione Granger and where she might be. As the days passed, Kingsley and Severus used their connections to try and find the young witch but to no avail. Their investigators did manage to trace Hermione's bank account with ease, however, Todd Fox had moved too swiftly and too cleverly for them and, while they could tell that her account had been closed, they did not manage to follow the movement of the money into the account of Nonie Gale. Kingsley, Minerva and Severus remained optimistic that Hermione was still amongst the living but gradually began to lose all hope of ever finding her, unless she herself chose to be found. However, Harry, wracked with guilt over the way he had dismissed his best friend, put the vast Potter fortune behind the search and instructed the investigators to keep looking. The investigators had no leads but every six months or so would return to the case and try again to find her.

.o.O.o.

Back in Toronto, Hermione had decided to take a brief holiday before moving on to her final destination. She had not had a proper holiday in years and this was the perfect opportunity. She also wanted to grieve for the loss of her friends before she began her new life with a clear head. Hermione's rational side kept telling her that she in fleeing Britain she had over-reacted and that she was being paranoid in her extreme care not to be found. However, her emotional side kept remembering the words Ron had spoken to Romilda, after kicking her out the bedroom that day.

.

_"What if she reports you for hitting her?" Romilda asked._

_Ron snorted. "I'm a trainee Auror and a war hero. No one's going to take her word over mine."_

_"Everyone thinks she's a war hero, too. And the Minister and the Headmistress are both very fond of her," Romilda warned._

_"And I'm a Pureblood man. If that Mudblood bitch does try to press charges against me, she won't get anywhere. She'll be laughed out of court and I'll make sure she regrets even trying."_

.

Hermione still could not believe Ron had called her a Mudblood. A bitch, yes. That suited the spite and loathing he had shown towards her that day. However, he had always been the first to protest the use of the word Mudblood.

_'I wonder if something happened to him during the war to make him change so drastically? The brains that attacked him at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, perhaps? Or the locket Horcrux? That always seemed to affect him more than it did Harry or I. I suppose Harry was used to dealing with a Horcrux, given that he'd had one in his head since he was fifteen months old, and I had Occlumency shields. Ron always was quick-tempered and had his own prejudices but he was never this… this _nasty_,'_ she thought. _'Well, it's no longer my concern. My priority is the baby growing inside me. He or she is more important to me now than anything or anyone else.'_

Hermione spent two weeks in Toronto, trying to come to terms with the changes in her life, before moving on. Once she had bought her new wand, she completely avoided the magical world. She explored the city and reaffirmed her Muggle roots. She also did some research into her options, given that she had stopped her Muggle education at the age of eleven and had no qualifications allowing her to work in the Muggle world. She knew she could ask Todd to fabricate some for her but holding the certificates in her hand would not compensate for the lack of knowledge. She therefore decided to sit the GED (General Educational Development), or high school equivalency tests.

The first thing she did on her arrival in Montréal was look for a cheap, furnished apartment to rent. Once she had signed a contract on a small, basic but clean one-bedroom apartment, paying her deposit and first month's rent in cash, she went with proof of her address in hand to a local bank to open an account. When that had been done, she began the process of closing Nonie Gale's bank account in Britain and transferring the funds to Canada. She made arrangements for the utilities, including the phone line, to be transferred to her name as of that day and then, that done, she went to the supermarket for groceries. When in Toronto, she had purchased some basic kitchen supplies and bed, bath and table linen, all of which she had shrunk and placed in her beaded bag. Hermione placed wards on her apartment to prevent the use of magic registering and unpacked and resized everything magically. Once everything was in order, she sat down over a cup of coffee and the job adverts in the local newspaper.

Circling a few ads that appealed to her, Hermione began making phone calls. To her delight, she was invited to an interview for a position as shop assistant in a rare and antiquarian bookstore. Ever the bookworm, Hermione made a point of arriving early, so that she would have plenty of time to browse the stacks before her interview. When it was time for her interview, she reluctantly dragged herself away from the bookshelves and announced her presence to the owner of the shop, a man who appeared to be in his late forties.

"Xavier Bellamy?" she asked. "I'm Nonie Gale. I have an appointment for an interview."

"Of course," he replied, amused at the stack of books she had placed on the counter. "I see that you're something of a bibliophile."

"Oh, yes," she gushed and the two of them spent the next twenty minutes happily discussing books.

As the conversation began to wind down, Xavier smiled at Hermione. "How could I possibly offer this job to anyone else?" he asked. "It's made for you."

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed happily.

Xavier showed Hermione round the shop from an employee's perspective and explained her duties to her, arranging that she would begin working the following day. As they talked, Hermione mentioned that she had been unable to finish her schooling due to personal circumstances, and that she intended to gain her GED. As there was no testing centre in Québec province, she would teach herself and would then need a few days off to sit the actual tests in the nearest testing centre. Xavier was happy to encourage her to improve herself and the conversation segued into the educational opportunities available for her. Hermione was keen to read for a degree in Classics at McGill University, even though she knew she would only be able to do so part-time, and she was particularly excited to learn of the industry-specific courses offered by the Rare Books School in the United States⁴. Xavier had employed a number of students over the years and was perfectly willing to fit her shifts around her studies.

Hermione left the shop feeling light-hearted and optimistic for the first time in a very long time. Hermione had only chosen to become a trainee Healer because it was expected of her to choose a profession where she would be doing good and because her parents were dentists and so, by also choosing a medical, or healing, profession, she felt closer to them. However, she had never been happy working at St Mungo's and the opportunity now to be herself completely and to choose a profession based solely upon her own interests was a tremendous relief to her. At Hogwarts, Hermione had always been happiest in the library and the idea of a career as a rare and antiquarian bookseller, where she would be surrounded by books and could even one day be her own boss, was irresistible.

Over the next few months, Hermione enthusiastically settled into her new life. She completely avoided the magical district and instead immersed herself once more in Muggle life. She loved working at the bookshop and Xavier was revelling in having an employee who had such respect for books and who was so keen to learn all he could teach her. She was also studying for her GED, which she intended to take before the baby would be born in October, and Xavier fully intended to write a recommendation for her when she completed the tests and was ready to apply to University. He had already told Hermione she would be welcome to bring the baby to work with her and had made plans to cordon off an area of the office for the baby. Hermione had registered with a Muggle doctor but had chosen not to find out the gender of the baby, wanting to be surprised.

_"I'll love this child no matter what — I already do love him or her unconditionally — but I can't help but wish for a mini-me rather than a mini-Ronald,"_ she ruminated. _"A little boy or girl with my curls, who loves books and reading."_

As her due date approached, Hermione became very antsy, a mixture of excited and apprehensive. Xavier had introduced her to his wife and when they learned how alone Hermione was, they had unofficially adopted her. Xavier's son, Marc, was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force and did not get home to visit his parents very often, so Xavier and his wife were happy to have Hermione to spoil. Xavier's wife, Constance, had insisted on becoming Hermione's labour coach, for which she was very grateful. Hermione, who was missing her own mother terribly during her pregnancy, clung to Constance, who was only too happy to mother the sad, young woman who was all alone in the world. Of course, Hermione missed her parents every day but right now, while she was expecting her first child, it was even worse than normal.

Hermione was ready to sit her GED exams in the middle of July and travelled to the testing centre in Toronto by train. Even though her pregnancy was not yet too far advanced for her to fly, she did not want the hassle of air travel. It was much easier to board a train than a plane and she would have plenty of time to peruse her study notes on the journey. Arriving in Toronto stress-free but slightly tired, she booked into her hotel for an early night, wanting to be refreshed for her exams the following morning.

Three days later, she was ready to return home. She had given herself enough time not only to sit her exams but also to visit the magical district again. She did not want to form ties with the magical community in Canada at this time and so had not visited the magical district in Montréal, however, there were some things she wanted to purchase — potions and ingredients mostly — and so she had decided to do that while in Toronto, where she was only transient. She had also paid a visit to the magical bookstore, to pick up a book on magical pregnancies and a magical baby book, something she regretted not having done when she was last in Toronto. Her pregnancy may be reasonably advanced but it was not yet too late to read up on what to expect with a magical pregnancy and a magical infant.

Stopping at the news stand, she picked up a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and glanced at the cover. In the bottom corner, there was a small picture of her, with the caption, _'War heroine still missing.'_ As she scrabbled to find her money purse in her handbag so that she could pay for the paper, she heard a quiet voice in her ear.

"Apparently, Miss Granger has been missing since early March. Her family and friends must be worried about her."

Looking behind her, she saw Boyce Curran, the wandmaker who had made her beautiful, new wand. "That's assuming she has any family or friends who would actually worry about her," she replied curtly. Meeting his knowing gaze, she stared challengingly at him until he nodded once and turned away. Hermione was grateful that she would be leaving Toronto that day, although for some reason she felt that she could trust him not to give away her whereabouts.

.o.O.o.

⁴ rarebookschool dot org


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 4**

Once home in Montréal, Hermione soon settled back into work while she waited for her GED results. She had no intention of starting university until after the baby was born, probably not until the autumn, or fall, semester when her baby would be close to a year old. That would give her plenty of time to spend with her child — she still did not yet know if it was a boy or a girl — before having to place him or her into day-care, something that she was already reluctant to do despite knowing the need for it.

Reading the book on magical pregnancy, she was relieved to see that while it was recommended that a pregnant witch be attended by a magical Healer, there was no real reason for her not to be treated by a Muggle doctor. She was already registered with a Muggle OB/GYN recommended by Constance and was happy to continue in the care of the Muggle physician.

The pregnancy continued without any problems, much to Hermione's relief. Even though she had been assured by both Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts Mediwitch, and a Healer recommended by Madam Pomfrey, that she was in perfect health, she had been worried that there might be lingering effects from the torture she had suffered at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange during the war, since she still suffered occasional muscle spasms, especially when she was tired or run down. According to her doctor, the baby seemed to be thriving nicely.

Hermione had started taking pre-natal yoga classes as soon as she settled in Montréal and started her Lamaze classes after she entered her third trimester. There were a few raised eyebrows in the first class when she attended with Constance, but there were other expectant mothers taking the classes who also were without traditional partners supporting them and the fact that she was with her 'aunt' was quickly forgotten about. It was the easiest way to pass off her relationship to the Bellamy family, without going into long and convoluted explanations which were no one's business but her own.

Finally the big day arrived. Hermione was very nervous but Constance was extremely supportive, keeping her calm and easing her fears. She had been warned that she would most likely be cursing the baby's father before her labour was over but Hermione was determined not to think about him or mention his name. She wanted to focus on the one positive thing that had come out of her relationship with Ronald Weasley, namely her baby. _'I'm looking forward to the future, not looking back,'_ she resolved.

Twelve hours of labour later, and at five minutes past two in the morning of the eleventh of November, Hermione pushed a squalling infant into the world.

"It's a girl," announced the doctor.

"Is she all right?" asked Hermione wearily, tears running down her cheeks as she was overwhelmed by emotion.

"She's perfect," the nurse reassured her, as she placed the little girl in her mother's arms.

A few minutes later, Hermione was even further reassured when both Apgar tests came back with perfect scores. _'I thought a score of ten was unusual. I wonder if that's due to her magic or possibly even the protections I'm sure Kreacher placed on me when he healed me,'_ she mused.

"She's beautiful — and I think she's going to have curly hair like yours," laughed Constance, having heard from Hermione in great detail just how much her hair had been the bane of her life when she was younger. "Have you thought of a name yet?"

"Yes," replied Hermione, not lifting her gaze from the little miracle in her arms. Hermione was deeply and irrevocably in love with her daughter, the baby's father now forgotten and irrelevant. "I know I should call her Poppy since she was born on Poppy Day⁵ but I'm going to call her Aimée. My beloved Aimée," she whispered, kissing her forehead.

When Hermione was discharged from hospital, the Bellamys insisted on her moving in with them for a week or two and Hermione, who was feeling very overwrought and was also devastated that her parents would never get to know their granddaughter, was glad to accept. She spent a couple of weeks being happily pampered and mothered by the kindly Constance but was soon back in her own apartment. At first she was a bit daunted by the thought that she was solely responsible for this little person and was grateful to know that Constance was merely at the other end of the phone.

"Come on, Nonie," she told herself. "You survived a war. You survived torture by Bellatrix bloody Lestrange. You got Harry and Ron through that same war and six years of school. It's only natural to worry but if you could do all that, you can certainly manage to bring up your own daughter." The pep talk worked and she put her doubts aside to focus on raising her child, who she absolutely adored.

Xavier and Constance encouraged Hermione to go out and socialise, so she took Aimée to baby swimming sessions and to a Mother and Baby group. It was good for her to mix with other young mothers but she did not become close to anyone in particular. It was hard for her to answer when people's innate curiosity led them to ask Hermione about herself, since there was very little of her past that she could talk about beyond the age of eleven when she had first started Hogwarts. She was also still very badly hurt by Ron and Harry's treatment of her and, never one to make friends easily, she now found it hard to trust new people. The only ones she was not wary of were the Bellamy family. For some reason, she had knew instinctively that she could implicitly trust the Bellamys and she came to rely on them the way she had once done Harry and the Weasleys.

Hermione returned to work part-time when Aimée was three months old, taking the baby with her. There was always someone in the office where the baby area had been set up, and all the employees of Bellamy's Books (Xavier, an office clerk, a shipping clerk who dealt with mail orders and another sales assistant who job shared with Hermione) doted on the child. With her mass of curls, spaniel eyes and happy disposition, she charmed everyone she met. She had all the Bellamy Books employees wrapped around her little finger within half a day!

When Aimée was nine months old, she got an ear infection while a tooth was coming through. The teeth that had already appeared had not bothered Aimée quite as much but this one, combined with the ear infection, was causing her a lot of pain. Aimée's temperature spiked and Hermione was frantic. She did not want to cast a sleeping charm on Aimée while she was feverish and so Hermione ended up pacing the floor all night, trying to calm her screaming daughter. Nothing she tried worked on the miserable child and all she could do was cast silencing charms, so that she would not disturb the neighbours.

"Shush, beloved Aimée. Please don't cry, baby," she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. The exhausted young mother would have given anything for a partner to take her daughter out of her arms and send her to bed.

_'Not that Ron would have done that anyway, as in his world, taking care of the children is the _woman's_ job,'_ she thought scornfully.

The Muggle remedies for infants prescribed by the doctor did not work on Aimée. Realising that she probably needed a magical remedy, Hermione sighed in frustration. _'I could easily brew it myself but I don't know the dosage for an infant.'_

Hermione realised that despite all the preparations she had made for motherhood, this was something she had overlooked. Eventually, Aimée wore herself out sufficiently to fall asleep and Hermione collapsed into bed for a couple of hours' rest. When morning arrived, Hermione called Constance.

"Do you mind looking after Aimée for a few hours today? She's teething and has an earache. She also has a bit of a fever, probably because she cried all night. She's asleep now but I need to go out and do some errands and I don't want to take her out with me while she's feeling so rough."

"Of course I don't mind!" Constance exclaimed. "You know I adore her. I'll be right over."

Twenty minutes later, Constance was ensconced in Hermione's small flat, cooing over the sleeping baby.

Hermione left and quietly apparated close to the magical district, or Quartier Magique, which she had not ever wanted to enter. Ducking into an alleyway, she cast a strong glamour on herself before entering the portal into the magical section of Montréal. She was relieved to see that there were as many people there wearing Muggle clothes as there were wearing wizarding robes, and so she did not stand out. Finding a book store, she went in and asked a shop assistant where the potions and parenting sections were.

"Is there something in particular you're looking for?" the shop assistant asked.

Hermione thanked Merlin that she spoke French with a perfect accent as, despite her best efforts to try and pick up a more Canadian accent, her British tones were still very evident in her English speech. She did not need to worry about her accent either in French or in English with the bi-lingual Bellamy family, as not being magical, they would not have heard of Hermione Granger. On this foray back into the wizarding world, however, she wanted to be very careful and made sure to appear the complete Francophone.

"I have a young daughter who is teething. She has an ear infection with it, too. I need to brew potions for her but I don't know the dosages for infants, or even for young children as she grows older. Is there a potions book that gives guidelines for common household potions for infants and children?" she explained.

"Indeed there is," the young man replied, leading her to the appropriate section in the stacks. "Do you speak English? This text for family potions is new but it's rushing off the shelves. It's highly recommended. The author has simplified the brewing processes and has made them more efficacious. He has also given very clear and unmistakeable instructions for dosages from birth up to adulthood, including advising which potions should be diluted for children and in what proportions. It's definitely the best book of its type but it's in English."

"I speak English. Thanks for your help," Hermione replied and the tome to the till to pay. Glancing at the cover, she was stunned to see that the author was Severus Snape, her former Potions Professor. _'Although why I'm surprised, I don't know. He's one of the top Potions Masters in the world and with all his experience brewing for the Hogwarts infirmary and also consulting for St Mungo's, he certainly knows what he's talking about with regard to dosages for the young.'_

Knowing Severus Snape as she did, she had absolute confidence in the book and gladly paid for it. She had intended to purchase ready made potions at the apothecary on the way home, to give Aimée an initial dose while she brewed more stocks, but now decided that she would rather trust Severus Snape's instructions than a brewer she did not know. Quickly skimming the recipes of the relevant potions, she checked the ingredients needed and stopped off at the apothecary to buy the few she did not have in stock. Leaving the magical district, she cancelled the glamour and apparated home.

"That was quick!" exclaimed Constance when she entered her apartment.

"I only had a couple of things to do and they went much more quickly than I anticipated. Is Aimée still sleeping?"

"Unfortunately so. I'm going to miss my usual cuddles with our little princess," Constance pouted.

Hermione snorted. "I'm not sure princess is the right word. She was a little monster last night."

"Have you taken her to the doctor?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "There's nothing to worry about. The little madam is just miserable and making sure we all know it."

"That's what children do, Nonie, dear," the older woman replied with a wink.

Hermione laughed and hugged Constance. "Thank you for coming over this morning."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay for a while? You look exhausted yourself. Why don't you go and lie down while I wait here for Aimée to wake up?"

Hermione shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Constance, but I don't think I could go back to sleep right now. I'll try and crash this afternoon when she — hopefully! — goes back down for her nap."

"All right, but call me if you need anything. I mean it, Nonie: anything at all."

"I will, Constance. I promise."

Constance left and Hermione went to check on her daughter. Seeing that she was beginning to stir, Hermione quickly went to the kitchen to brew the necessary potions for her daughter, which fortunately took very little time to brew. Just as she had decanted them both and put them in the fridge to cool, Aimée began to cry.

_'That was good timing,'_ she thought over her daughter's wails. "Good morning, my beloved. Are you feeling better today?" she asked the unhappy baby as she lifted her out of her cot. Quickly changing Aimée's nappy and dressing her, Hermione took her into the kitchen. Checking Snape's advice for children under a year of age, she loaded the recommended doses into plastic baby dispensing syringes and carefully squirted the potions into Aimée's mouth.

"I know, baby. They taste icky, doesn't they?" she said, as Aimée screwed up her face and tried to spit the potions out. "Professor Snape's potions always taste icky, I'm afraid, but they will definitely make you feel better, my beloved." Hermione sat down to nurse Aimée, who fed eagerly, washing the unpleasant taste away. By the time she had finished nursing, Aimée had perked up considerably.

"Oh, you do feel better now, don't you, beloved Aimée? Another dose this afternoon and then one more this evening and you should be as right as rain by tomorrow."

Hermione spent the day playing with her daughter who was clearly much happier. _'I wonder if I should find a magical Healer to register with?'_ she mused. _'I may not be able to diagnose everything myself. I hadn't got very far through my Healer training before I left Britain and I hadn't worked in the paediatric ward at all yet, so I really shouldn't be treating her myself.'_

Hermione really did not want to join the magical community but she also wanted what was best for her daughter. _'Let's just get through this tooth first and then I'll decide,'_ she sighed.

However, before Hermione had a chance to decide, Aimée made the decision for her. The following morning, still feeling slightly under the weather, her disgruntled and precocious daughter did her first piece of accidental magic, surprising Hermione greatly as it was rare for accidental magic to manifest at this young an age. They were at Bellamy's Books when it happened but, luckily, Hermione was alone in the office with Aimée at the time. She was taken by surprise when a couple of Obliviators apparated into the office with almost silent pops.

"Oh, good," said one, a tall man with blond, curly hair, to his partner. "There's only the mother here. We only need to explain, not Obliviate. I'm sorry, Ma'am, I'm being rude. Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Justin Clearwater and this is my partner, Olivier Paquet."

"Nonie Gale. Pardon me, but why are you here?" Hermione demanded.

"Erm, we need to explain something to you, Madam Gale. I know this is going to sound weird, but do you believe in magic?" Justin asked.

Hermione sighed and slipped her wand out of her holster. Showing it to the two men, she replied, "I'd say so, but, I repeat — what are you doing here?"

"Well, your daughter did accidental magic," said Olivier. "Since this is a non-magical business, we thought we might need to do…"

"Damage control," interjected Hermione wearily. "It's all right, sir. I know about magic, although I'm surprised you were going to explain it to me. My parents weren't informed about magic until I got my Hogwarts letter when I was eleven. It would have been much easier for us all if we had received an explanation when I first began to do accidental magic. They were really worried about me."

"Yes, well, Canada isn't as hidebound as Britain," Olivier explained, making an assumption based upon Hermione's accent. "We find it better to inform non-magical parents as soon as their child shows signs of doing magic. It helps keep the accidental magic to a minimum and stops families worrying."

Justin had been looking at Hermione appraisingly. "Excuse me for asking, Madam Gale, but might I assume you left Britain because of the war?"

"That's right. Don't worry, I'm not a Death Eater on the run. I'm a Muggle-born," she said, pulling up her sleeve to show that she had no Dark Mark.

"I didn't really think you were a Death Eater, Madam Gale," he said. "I highly doubt that a Death Eater would be working in a Muggle book shop. I was just wondering, what with you being a bit of a refugee and working in a non-magical business, if you know anyone in the magical community here? Only my cousin — she also left Britain because of the war — anyway, she owns a day-care facility for magical children. I'm not trying to drum up business for her but if that little cutie over there is already doing accidental magic, it might not be the best of ideas to carry on bringing her to work with you. You can contact my cousin by owl, floo or telephone. Let me give you her card; give her a call and have a chat with her."

Hermione noticed the continued use of the term 'non-magical' instead of 'Muggle' and she liked it. It didn't sound derogatory like 'Muggle' did. She took the card and read it. "Penelope Clearwater, I remember her. She was a few years ahead of me and in Ravenclaw, while I was in Gryffindor, so she probably won't remember me. You have the same hair and eyes as your cousin."

He laughed. "So people keep telling us. I don't see the resemblance myself, although Penny says that's because I don't _want_ to see it because I don't think it's manly enough."

Hermione smiled back. "Thank you for giving me Penelope's card. I probably will contact her."

"Good. Well, in that case, our work here is done. Have a good day, Madam Gale," he said giving her a jaunty salute, before he turned and apparated away quietly.

_'I guess I'm rejoining the wizarding world,'_ she thought with a sigh.

Hermione stared at the phone. _'It's only a telephone, it's not going to hurt you,'_ she told herself.

Gritting her teeth, she picked up the phone and dialled the number on the business card. As she sat listening to the rings on the other end, she almost slammed the phone down but just as she twitched her arm ready to move it, the phone was answered. "Hello? Clearwater Day-care."

"Hello, may I speak to Penelope Clearwater, please?" Hermione replied.

"Speaking. How may I help you?"

"Your cousin, Justin, gave me your business card. I have a nine month old daughter. I've been taking her to work with me but she did her first accidental magic today and, as I work in a non-magical business, I need to make other arrangements for her while I'm at work."

"I understand," replied Penelope warmly. "We're open every weekday from eight o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening. I realise that's shorter hours than non-magical day-care centres but with all our parents being able to use magical travel, they don't need to factor possible traffic problems into their daily routine. We're also open on Saturdays from eight until two. Would it be possible for you to come and visit Clearwater Day-care either this afternoon or some time tomorrow? We can discuss the details when we meet in person."

"I don't finish work today until half past five. My daughter is still too young to side-along apparate and I don't have access to a floo right now, so I'll be coming by non-magical transport, which means I probably wouldn't arrive before six. Perhaps it might be better tomorrow… this might be a strange request, but would it be all right if I arrive just after two o'clock tomorrow and we sit and talk over coffee? I know it's an imposition since it's after hours, but you'll understand when you see me."

"That's fine." Penelope sounded puzzled. "May I have your name, please?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. My name is Nonie Gale and my daughter is Aimée."

"Very well, Madam Gale. I'll look forward to seeing you at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

The next day, Hermione arrived at Clearwater Day-care at quarter past two. She wanted to be sure that everyone apart from Penelope had left because she was concerned about what Penelope's initial reaction would be upon seeing her.

Walking into the building, she called out, "Miss Clearwater?"

Moving further in, she saw Penelope with her back to her, talking to a young girl who was in her arms. Penelope turned around at the sound of Hermione's voice calling her and her jaw dropped. "Hermione Granger?" she said incredulously.

"And that reaction is exactly why I didn't want to meet you when other people were around," she said wryly. "I'm no longer Hermione Granger. I changed my name magically."

"That sounds like a story," the older woman said sympathetically.

Hermione sighed. "It really is."

"Come on," said Penelope. "I have a flat upstairs. Let's go and get that coffee you suggested on the phone yesterday and you can tell me your story."

"That sounds good," Hermione said with relief and followed Penelope up to her home.

Up in the apartment, Penelope put the little girl she had been holding in a play area. "This is my daughter, Phoebe."

"And this is Aimée," Hermione said, putting her daughter down beside Penelope's.

As Penelope bustled around making coffee and putting out a plate of biscuits, Hermione studied Penelope's daughter. She had bright red curls and appeared to be a couple of years older than Aimée but Hermione could see that she was being very careful with the smaller girl. _'She must be used to being around little ones from the day-care centre,'_ Hermione thought. _'She has her mother's curls but the colour… is she…?'_

"Penelope, forgive me for asking this, but is Phoebe's father by any chance Percy Weasley?"

The blonde haired woman nodded, her blue eyes wistful. "We were together for a couple of years after we finished Hogwarts but when Percy became so ambitious, even at the expense of his family, we began to have problems. We were continually fighting, especially when he supported that toad, Umbridge, despite the fact that she was so badly prejudiced. I couldn't believe it when he described her as a _lovely woman!_ The final straw for me was Dumbledore's death. Percy was being so self-righteous and unsympathetic about it. I just knew that Percy wasn't seeing the big picture and he simply didn't realise that with Professor Dumbledore's death, war would break out and the Death Eaters would take over.

"I was already around three months pregnant at the time but with how bad things were between us, I kept putting off telling Percy. The day after Dumbledore's funeral, I left. My parents and I came here because we have family here. My Mum is a Muggle-born and we knew she'd be in danger. I didn't want to — couldn't — be with Percy anymore. When the war was over, I didn't contact Percy immediately because I wanted to make sure everything had died down completely before I let anyone in Britain know where I was. To be honest, I also wasn't sure he wouldn't end up in Azkaban for collaborating with Voldemort's Ministry! By the time I was ready to contact him, I found out he had just got engaged. I don't hold any grudges against Percy but we'd never be right for each other. There's too much history between us and too many bad memories. I still haven't told him about Phoebe yet because I don't want to cause problems for him with his new wife."

Hermione nodded in understanding. Percy had got engaged just before she left Britain but she had not met his fiancée. "Well, she's adorable. And you gave her a beautiful name," she said.

Penelope beamed at the compliment to her daughter. Glancing over at the little red-head, she glowed with pride. "Phoebe means bright or shining or pure. When she was born, it was the middle of the war and I desperately needed to believe that there was something bright and shining and pure in our world. I also considered calling her Lucy, which means light, for the much same reason, but despite my problems with Percy, I also wanted Phoebe to have something of her father in her, so Phoebe, which begins with the same letter of the alphabet as both my and Percy's names, felt right."

Hermione smiled. "Those are lovely reasons for her name."

"Thank you," said Penny, looking over at her daughter and smiling as well.

.o.O.o.

⁵ Poppy Day or Remembrance Day or Armistice Day or Veterans' Day, is a memorial day which has been observed on 11 November in the Commonwealth and a few other countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. (Many other countries commemorate their own Remembrance Day on other dates.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 5**

Penelope looked at Hermione. "Your turn, now. What happened with you? I get the _Daily Prophet_ regularly and they publish an article about you every month or so, saying that you're still missing. I presume you don't want to be found?"

Hermione shook her head. "Absolutely not. Please don't tell anyone you've found me! After the war, I was in a relationship with Percy's youngest brother. I'm not going to talk about him by name because when Dumbledore died, he left my Ex a device that would enable him to find Harry and myself if we got separated during the war. I don't know if the tracking charms, or whatever it was that Dumbledore put on the device, are still active and part of the magic involved us saying my Ex's name. I don't want my Ex to find me so I'm not taking any chances, since he's petty enough that he'd keep the device with him at all times just in case it could lead him to me.

"I went back to Hogwarts to finish my final year and moved in with my boyfriend after my NEWTs. He's a selfish, lazy slob. He used to go out drinking with his mates every night and apart from the first night in our flat, I don't think he spent one single evening with me. I used to ask him to stay in with me, or to go out somewhere _together_, but he never would. We were arguing a lot and Harry didn't want to get caught in the middle. I suppose I should have expected that since Percy's brother and I fought all the time when we were at Hogwarts and I don't think Harry took my side even once. I don't know why I was expecting Harry to support me this time but it annoyed me that he blamed me for all the problems in my relationship with his friend without even listening to my side of the story.

"During the war, Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix made a point of protecting Harry's dreadful relatives who treated him like dirt all his life but they wouldn't help me protect my parents. I was a Muggleborn and I was Harry Potter's best friend and that put me in the number two most wanted slot. It also meant my parents were in danger. I Obliviated them of all memory of me, gave them false memories to fill in the gaps, and sent them off to live in Australia with new names. The Obliviation was irreversible, so when Percy's brother and I started having problems, I didn't have anywhere else to go. You know, I told my Ex and Harry what I'd done to my parents — without telling them it was irreversible, so that Harry wouldn't feel guilty — but after the war, they never asked about them. I think Percy's brother thought they were no great loss because they were Muggles. I should have seen that as a sign! Anyway, I started training as a Healer but I didn't really enjoy it — it was just a way to try and stay close to my parents, because they're dentists — but despite the lessons of the war, half the patients, Healers and Mediwitches still wouldn't give me the time of day because I'm Muggleborn.

"I was determined to stick it out, though. I kept telling myself that things would get better. Then I began to think I might be pregnant. I cast the charm on myself to check and when it was confirmed, I decided to plan a special meal for my Ex's birthday, which was the following day. I thought — hoped — that between his birthday and my news, he might actually want to spend a romantic evening with me. I came home early to prepare and walked in on him in bed with someone else. We had a row and he told me she was pregnant and moving in. He said some vile things to me and beat me up before telling me to get out."

Penelope gasped in horror. Hermione smiled at her sadly and continued her story. "I knocked them both unconscious with a Healer's spell and packed my things. Not that there was much to pack since he wouldn't let me _un_pack most of it because he didn't want my things around, which is another sign I should have seen, I suppose. Then I left. I went to Harry's because I really didn't have anywhere else to go but he wouldn't even let me in the door. He claimed was too busy to deal with me then. He even said I should go and apologise to my boyfriend, who had just beaten me up! Despite everything we'd been through together, he didn't even do me the courtesy of saying so to my face himself. He sent his house elf to do his dirty work for him. His elf healed me and I left. I decided there was nothing to keep me in Britain so, on that same day, I closed my Gringotts bank account, changed my name magically so I couldn't be found and disappeared.

"I came here because my Mum was actually from Québec. I don't have any family left, on either parent's side, but I had the connection to Canada and as no one in the wizarding world knew about that, or that I speak French, they wouldn't think to look for me here. I made absolutely certain I couldn't be found because, quite frankly, my Ex is vindictive enough to claim Aimée from me and Pureblood law would allow it. I wouldn't even be given a chance to contest the claim and I wouldn't be able to see her again until she was of age, assuming that she even wanted to see me by the time he'd finished indoctrinating her against me. I don't want Aimée anywhere near him. I don't trust him not to turn on her and hurt her as well. My daughter is _not_ going to be physically or emotionally abused by her father. Not if I have any say in the matter," Hermione swore.

"So I came to Montréal. I decided it was time to think about myself and do what I want, instead of what others expect of me. I didn't want to continue with my Healer training but got a job in a non-magical rare and antiquarian bookstore, which I love. After all, anyone who knows me, knows I love books! The Bellamys — that's shop owner and his wife — have pretty much adopted me. Xavier and Constance are my honorary parents and Aimée's grandparents. Xavier is even training me in the business. I took my GED just before Aimée was born and next month I'm starting university, to read for a degree in Classics; I'll be studying part-tine and continuing to work part-time. Xavier has also talked about sending me on industry-specific courses run by the Rare Book School in the States but I wouldn't be able to take Aimée with me to the classes and I'm not ready to leave her behind yet. Perhaps I'll do those courses when she's a bit older, after I finish my degree.

"I've been taking Aimée to work with me. Xavier insisted. She did her first accidental magic yesterday. When your cousin and his partner came to Obliviate any Muggles in the vicinity and found only me, Justin gave me your card. I realise that the Bellamys may well see Aimée doing accidental magic any time they're with her, so there's no point in trying to hide it from them if it does happen, but there's a lot of very valuable and expensive tomes in that shop and I don't want to risk anything happening to the books due to uncontrolled magic. I'd never be able to replace or pay for them. Besides, watching her with Phoebe, I can see it'll do her good to interact with other children. I don't know what my university schedule will be yet but I'd like to register Aimée with your day-care anyway, if that's all right."

Penny was aghast at Hermione's story. "I'm so sorry about everything that happened to you, Her… I mean, Nonie. Of course, you can register Aimée with us. I'm curious about your new name, though?"

Hermione laughed. "Mémé used to live with us when I was little and she always called me Nonie. I would never let anyone else abbreviate my name and, certainly, no one in the wizarding world would associate it with me. The Weasleys and Harry all knew how much I detested it when they tried to shorten Hermione. I wanted a name that meant something to me and that would be familiar enough that I'd answer to it easily, hence Nonie. As for Gale, that comes from Dorothy Gale."

Hermione looked at Penelope expectantly. The blue-eyed witch looked puzzled for a moment and then it clicked. "Dorothy Gale — _The Wizard of Oz!_"

"It seemed appropriate somehow," Hermione laughed. "Aimée was because I love her very much, no matter who her father is or what he did to me. I never want her to doubt that, so Aimée. She'll have that reminder with her always."

"Aimée is the spitting image of you, Nonie. I don't see anything of her father in her at all."

"No, Aimée is completely me, and not only in looks. I know it's a bit too early to tell yet, but if her doing accidental magic at such a young age is any indication, I think she probably has my power and intelligence, too. Thank Merlin, she doesn't seem to have her father's lack of intellect! Actually, talking of Merlin… I kind of hoped — quite strongly — during the pregnancy that she would be a mini-me. Do you think magic might have responded to that and somehow made it happen?"

Penelope looked pensive. "I don't know. I have no idea if that's possible or not. You're the Healer," she added with a smirk.

"I only had about six months' Healer training before I left, and it didn't include paediatrics or obstetrics. Oh, and that reminds me. Now that I'm re-entering the wizarding world, at least in part, I really should register with a family Healer. Is there someone you can recommend?"

"Indeed I can. Justin's wife, Melissa, is a Healer and she's very good. I'll give you her details."

"Thanks, Penelope. All right, time to talk business. I assume you have registration forms for me to fill out and there are fees to pay?"

"I'm afraid so," Penelope laughed. She discussed the fees with Hermione, who was actually quite well-off financially, despite only working part-time. She had come into a comfortable inheritance from her grandparents, which had been held in trust for her until she turned eighteen. She had also received a cash award with her Order of Merlin. Since arriving in Canada, she had increased her nest egg by investing cautiously in the Muggle stock market, using Arithmancy to guide her. So despite her upcoming tuition fees at university, she had no problems paying the fees to Clearwater Day-care.

As Hermione sat filling in the various forms, she came to a halt over a couple of details. "I've been seeing a Muggle doctor, rather than a magical Healer, so I don't have magical medical records for Aimée, nor has she received magical inoculations yet. I'll take care of that as soon as I can get an appointment with your cousin's wife, although I suppose the inoculations might need to be spread out a bit? I'll let you know what the Healer says, so we can work out when Aimée can start."

"That's fine," said Penelope easily. "It will probably only take a couple of weeks to complete the inoculations, providing she has no adverse reactions. Why don't we say Aimée will begin day-care on the first of September? The fees should be paid on the first of the month in any case, so that should work out nicely."

"That's perfect. There's just one other thing though. I don't have a next of kin or other emergency contact for Aimée, except for Constance Bellamy, who, as far as I'm aware, isn't magical. Is that a problem?"

"I shouldn't think so," said Penelope. "The only problem might be if we have to take her to the Healer or to the hospital. We take great care of the children but with a room full of youngsters who can't yet control their magic, accidents can happen."

"I understand," Hermione laughed. "I don't know any other magicals here though, apart from you…" Hermione's voice trailed out as something occurred to her. Penny looked at her quizzically and she explained. "I've just realised that in a way, _you're_ the closest thing I have here to magical next of kin. Our daughters are cousins, after all!"

Penelope's mouth fell open in shock. "Oh my word! You're right! They are cousins, aren't they? Welcome to the family, Nonie."

"Thank you, Penelope," Hermione whispered.

"Penny," she interrupted. "My family call me Penny."

Hermione nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm sorry for being so teary," she sniffled. "It's just that I felt so _alone._"

"Well, you're not alone any more," Penny said firmly, handing the younger witch a box of tissues. "Put the Bellamys on the contact form, so that they'll be able to collect Aimée if ever you're running late, and put my name as well, for magical emergencies. It's not the usual procedure, as it's better to have someone not on staff as your emergency contact, but it'll do for now."

Pausing for a moment to smile at her daughter who was gazing at them curiously, Penny turned back to Hermione. "I'll tell you what: Phoebe and I are going round to my parents for Sunday lunch tomorrow. The whole family will be there. Why don't you join us? Mum and Dad will love to meet you and I'm willing to bet Mum will have declared herself a second honorary grandmother to Aimée before the afternoon is over."

Hermione gratefully accepted the invitation and the two witches sat chatting for a while longer and getting to know each other better. By the time Hermione and Aimée went home that day, she felt that she had made a good friend, one who might even one day become like the sister she had always wished for.

The next day, Hermione nervously knocked on the door of Léon and Sophie Clearwater's home, giving a breath of relief when Penny answered the door.

"I was watching for you," Penny explained with a grin. "Come on in and meet everyone."

Hermione followed Penny to a large and comfortable looking room, which was filled with people.

"All right, everyone. Listen up!" Penny called. "This is Nonie, my almost sister-in-law, and the little cutie in her arms is her daughter, Aimée. Aimée and Phoebe's fathers are brothers, making them cousins."

"Hence the reason why you're calling Nonie your almost sister-in-law," said Justin with a grin, as he came over to shake Hermione's hand. "Nice to see you again, Nonie. This is my wife, Melissa, and our son, Felix."

Hermione greeted Justin's family and looked at Penny inquiringly. Penny nodded and carried on the introductions. "Over here are my parents, Léon and Sophie," she said, smiling brightly at her parents. Her voice softened with love as she made the next introduction. "Next to Mum are my grandparents, Lowell and Oriane. Then Dad's brother and sister-in-law — Justin's parents — Orson and Rosine. Mum's family all live in Britain, so you won't be meeting them today. Finally, beside Melissa is Justin's sister, Sage, and her fiancé, Mathieu."

Hermione politely greeted everyone and was warmly welcomed by them all. Sophie and Oriane drew her into conversation and she was soon chatting away happily in the friendly atmosphere. For all that Molly Weasley was undoubtedly a loving parent, she was also very judgemental and Hermione had never felt fully accepted by the Weasley matriarch. Penny was the only member of this family to have known Hermione prior to this day — and even that only barely — and yet, Hermione felt that she was not being judged and that the welcome was genuine. She briefly wondered why but put it away at the back of her mind to ponder later. However, this was quickly explained.

The family was leisurely chatting and Aimée was firmly ensconced on Sophie's lap. Sophie was trying to teach the little girl to say, "Granny," but she was being stubborn and was not cooperating.

"Nanny," she gurgled — or an approximation thereof! She was only nine months old, after all.

Hermione laughed. "My employer and his wife have unofficially adopted me. They're Nanny and Pappy," she explained.

"Nanny is also good," said Sophie with a wink.

"Nanny is good," agreed Oriane with a smile, "but I insist on Mémé. Now let me hold my new great-granddaughter, Sophie."

With a laugh, Sophie handed over the little girl and stood up. "Nonie, would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen for a minute?" she asked, drawing the younger woman away from the merrily chatting group.

Hermione followed her into the kitchen, which seemed very calm and organised, unlike the usually chaotic Weasley kitchen.

"Oh, don't worry. There's nothing to do, it's all under control," laughed Sophie. "I just wanted a quick word away from the hordes."

Eyebrows raised, Hermione sat down at the kitchen table opposite Sophie and looked at her inquiringly.

"Nonie, Léon and I both know who you are, or were, since we understand from Penny that you changed your name magically. I want you to know that you can trust us. We won't say a word to anyone about your previous identity. Not only because you're family, and family looks out for each other, but because we owe you. The year that the Chamber of Secrets was opened in Hogwarts, if you hadn't warned Penny to look round corners with a mirror, she wouldn't only have been petrified, she would have been killed. I can't tell you how grateful we are to you for Penny's life and that would make you family, even without that beautiful little girl who is my granddaughter's cousin."

"Mrs Clearwater… Sophie… I don't know what to say, except thank you. Thank you for welcoming into your home and into your family."

"There's no need to thank us, dear. And Nonie? I know you have your employer's family, too — and you must introduce us some time — but know this, you're not alone now. Why don't you take a minute to compose yourself?" Sophie suggested, seeing tears brimming in Hermione's eyes and giving her a hug. "Come and join us again when you're ready."

Hermione nodded mutely and sat at the table, struggling to get her emotions under control. When she felt calmer, she rejoined the Clearwaters and spent a very pleasant afternoon with this family who had welcomed her so wholly and without reservation into their midst.

Within a couple of weeks, Hermione had registered with Melissa Clearwater's Healing Practice and Aimée had received all her magical inoculations. Sophie had insisted on adding her name to Aimée's forms as emergency magical contact instead of Penny. She and Léon had met Xavier and Constance Bellamy and the two older couples had formed an immediate friendship. Apart from the fact that one couple was magical while the other was not, they had much in common and a similar outlook on life. Add in their mutual concern for Hermione and Aimée, and they had quickly bonded.

Hermione herself was feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the speed and enthusiasm with which she had become a part of the Clearwater family. She kept expecting to wake up and find herself alone again but the motherly love she was receiving from both Constance and Sophie was doing much to reassure her. As she had hoped, Penelope was fast becoming like a sister to her, and Oriane, firmly instructing Hermione to call her Mémé, was delighting in spoiling her new granddaughter, as she kept calling Hermione. Fortunately, by the time Aimée's first day at Clearwater Day-care came around, the little girl already knew Penelope and Phoebe well enough that she was quite happy to be left with them while Hermione went off for her own first day at university.

Over the next few months, Hermione was extremely busy between caring for her daughter, her university studies and her job but she was happier than she had been for a very long time. A sparkle was back in her eyes and a bloom in her cheeks. She was flourishing and no longer looked depressed and beaten down by life.

This all came crashing down around her when the lease on her apartment was up for renewal and the landlady declined to renew it, instead giving Hermione only the minimum notice permissible. Hermione knew that between the Bellamys and the Clearwaters, she would not be on the streets if she did not manage to find another apartment in time but she did not want to keep moving Aimée from pillar to post. She also had exams coming up and wanted to be settled in her new apartment as quickly as possible.

"Hi, Penny," the harried witch gasped as she dropped off her daughter at the day-care centre. "I have to go flat hunting today and I'm not sure how promptly I'll be able to be here to collect Aimée. If I'm running late, would you mind keeping her afterwards, or else call Constance or your Mum to get her?"

"That won't be a problem but what's wrong with your apartment?" asked Penny.

"The landlady decided not to renew the lease. She's barely given me any notice and I have exams coming up, so I want to try and find something quickly. Today, if at all possible. The sooner I can make the move and get Aimée settled in our new apartment, the better," Hermione explained.

Penny looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "Did you know I recently renovated my apartment?"

Hermione shook her head, wondering why that was relevant.

"It's really very large. I was thinking of getting a flatmate because, quite frankly, Phoebe and I are rattling around in there on our own, so I did it up to allow my hypothetical flatmate and myself a certain amount of privacy, while still sharing the apartment. There are two main suites — both large bed-sitting rooms with ensuites. There are also two smaller rooms, one of which is Phoebe's. The other was going to be a guest room but it would be perfect for Aimée. There's also a family bathroom, which the two girls would share, plus the shared living area and kitchen that you're already familiar with. Why don't you come and look? I can be spared here for a few minutes."

"Are you sure?" Hermione breathed.

"Definitely," Penelope confirmed assuredly. "I could do with the rental income and the help with utility costs but I've been putting it off because I was nervous about inviting someone I don't know into my home. You're like my little sister and, after all those years sharing dorms in Hogwarts, I'm sure you know how to live with others. Come on, I'll show you the rooms."

Penelope took Hermione up to the apartment and showed her around. Hermione had been there several times before but had not seen the bedrooms. The room that Penny was offering to her was very generously sized and housed a queen size bed, a couple of lounging chairs with a small table, and a desk and chair quite comfortably. There was a good sized walk-in closet and the ensuite bathroom was quite luxurious. Hermione would be able to study in peace and quiet but would still have companionship in the communal, shared areas of the apartment. The smaller room for Aimée was large enough for a cot and or a single bed, a play area, and also for a desk when she got older. If they were still living there as Aimée entered her teens, Hermione could easily see her daughter choosing to sacrifice part of the play area — which would probably become a lounging area, with the addition of some bean bags — in favour of a larger bed. The room had fitted wardrobes and drawers and in the play area, there was a window seat with storage space under it. Penny, the quintessential Ravenclaw, had made sure there were plenty of book shelves in this and every other room in the apartment.

Hermione turned to Penny with an enormous grin on her face. "I love it! How soon can I move in?"

"How about at the weekend?" Penny suggested. "We can help you pack and move your things over."

"That's not necessary. I just need to shrink everything and it'll probably all fit into one carton," Hermione demurred.

"Nonie," said Penny sternly. "When are you going to realise that you don't have to do everything on your own anymore? Let us help you."

"All right," Hermione conceded graciously.

"Good," said Penny firmly. "That'll give me time to sort out a lease for you, get a set of keys made and add you to the building's wards before you move in."

Hermione twirled round and threw her arms round Penny in a hug. "Thank you!" she exclaimed.

"You're very welcome," laughed Penny, hugging her back.

By the weekend, the terms of the lease had been agreed and all the formalities had been completed. Melissa volunteered to babysit for Phoebe and Aimée, while Justin and his partner, Olivier, helped the two girls pack up Hermione's apartment and move her things to Penny's. Thanks to magic, it was all complete in just a few short hours. Hermione handed over the keys of the magically scrubbed and cleaned apartment to her landlady and headed over to her new home to unpack.

Penny had furnished the room she was renting to Hermione beautifully and all Hermione had needed to do was to buy furniture for Aimée's room, to go with the cot that she already had. Fortunately, everything had been delivered quickly and Hermione had even had time to decorate Aimée's room before they moved in. Hermione had left the walls plain white but had made one feature wall, using dozens of brightly coloured butterfly wall stickers, which she then charmed to fly about that wall. Hermione even managed to find matching curtains and bedding, for when Aimée would move out of her cot into a proper bed.

Phoebe had squealed with excitement when she saw the butterflies and so her room was given a similar transformation, with pretty flowers charmed to sway gently as though in a breeze and dragonflies hovering over the flowers. Phoebe was mesmerised by the dandelions releasing their spores, which floated up to the ceiling before disappearing.

The family bathroom which the two girls would be using was also given a makeover, with dolphins, fish and other sea creatures swimming about the walls. Hermione even managed to link the charms into the wards, so that when anyone without a magical signature, such as Xavier and Constance, would enter the apartment, the movement would cease and the stickers would be frozen in the original positions in which they had been affixed to the walls. It was a very tricky piece of charmwork but worthwhile.

Over the next few years, Hermione eventually completed her degree. She also undertook a number of different courses at the Rare Book School, including one that was an overview in book binding, restoration and repair. This sparked off a new interest in her. With the way that Hermione loved books, it actually pained her to see them damaged and in poor condition. She took some more detailed and specialised courses in the subject and, with her passion and love for books, she soon began to make a name for herself as one of the best book restorers in the business. She continued working with Xavier, although he focused on the buying and selling while she focused primarily on the restoration and repair. Xavier's job involved much travelling to search out and purchase the rare and antiquarian books he sold in his shop and Hermione was happy to have a role which allowed her to stay close to home and raise her daughter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and calls her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 6**

When Phoebe turned eleven, she went off to Sauveterre⁶ Academy of Magical Studies, where Justin and Melissa's son, Felix, was already a student. For all that Penelope and Hermione jokingly referred to themselves as almost sisters-in-law, Phoebe and Aimée were more like sisters than cousins, having been brought up as such, and Aimée missed Phoebe terribly. Penelope had never even considered sending Phoebe to Hogwarts, since she was completely committed to her life in Canada and now even had a boyfriend who she cared for very much: Olivier Paquet, Justin's partner in the Canadian Auror Corps.

Aimée, on the other hand was torn. After hearing so many stories from Hermione about Hogwarts and now from Phoebe about Sauveterre, she really was not sure which school she wanted to attend, as the idea of going to the same school where her mother had experienced so many adventures was very appealing. Of course, Hermione had been very careful which stories she told Aimée as she had not yet admitted to her daughter that she was really the long-lost Hermione Granger, but there were still plenty of stories for her to tell even without making that particular confession.

Another reason why Aimée was considering going to Hogwarts was the fact that her father had also gone there. Aimée and Hermione had not discussed Ron in detail. Aimée did not even know his name as of yet. Hermione had explained that her father had been a school friend but even though they had not parted on good terms, that was solely a matter between them and not something that Aimée should allow to influence her. If Aimée wanted to meet her father, then Hermione would arrange it. Although Aimée was curious about her father, she also adored her mother and she was sensitive enough to have picked up that 'not parting on good terms' was somewhat of an understatement. Concluding that something very bad had happened between her parents, she refrained from asking any more about him, even though her curiosity remained. _'If I go to Hogwarts, perhaps I could meet him then,'_ she thought.

The fact that Phoebe did not know her father either, and indeed had no real desire to meet him, helped to minimise the importance of her father to Aimée at this time. Phoebe had not even shown any interest in knowing his name. Penelope had explained to Phoebe that her father was essentially a good man but that he was too literal at times, taking too much at face value, and that he tended to put his ambition ahead of his family, not out of maliciousness but because he simply did not see the big picture and therefore had problems judging which was more important. Phoebe did not hold Percy's faults against him but she had come to regard Olivier as her father figure and he more than adequately filled the hole that Percy's absence may have left in her life.

In fact, between Olivier, Justin and Sage's husband, Mathieu, the girls had no shortage of father figures. Even Xavier and Constance's son, Marc, on his visits to his parents treated the two girls as nieces and usually took them out for a treat to the movies or a concert or sports game. Not only were the Bellamys non-magical but the Clearwaters had blended both magical and non-magical seamlessly into their day-to-day lives and the two girls, indeed all the next generation of Clearwaters, were growing up equally at home in both worlds.

When Aimée turned eleven in November, she received her invitation to Sauveterre, however, since like her mother, her birthday was after the start of the academic year, she had to wait impatiently for the next year before she would be able to begin her magical studies. The International Confederation of Wizards had declared many generations previously that magical education should not begin before the age of eleven, as there was too great a risk of burning out a child's core if they used magic regularly at too young an age, therefore, all magical children began school only after they turned eleven. However, to appease Aimée, Hermione started teaching her Potions, and the basics of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, since these subjects did not actually require the use of magic. Aimée was already an impressive chef despite her young age and easily took to Potions.

The following May, towards the end of the academic year, Hermione received an offer to participate in an extensive restoration project in Britain. She had consulted on overseas projects before but had always avoided the UK. She had not stepped foot back in the country of her birth since the day she found out that she was expecting Aimée. Hermione was itching to get her hands on the collection of tomes that she would be assessing and restoring but the fact that she would need to relocate to Britain for the duration of the project, which was expected to take six months to a year, was a definite drawback and had her hesitating to accept the offer to lead this project.

"You know that if you take the job, I'll look after Aimée for you while you're away, don't you?" asked Penny, when she and Hermione were sitting discussing the project late one night. The pyjama-clad women were curled up in comfortable armchairs and Hermione held a mug of tea in her hands, staring down into its depths as though the answer as to what she should do lay there.

"Aimée has hinted that she might like to attend Hogwarts," Hermione said, in a seeming non-sequiteur.

"She hasn't been invited, has she?" asked Penny, puzzled.

"No, she was born in Canada. Hogwarts' book of magical births only records the names of those born in Britain and Ireland, as far as I'm aware. Children of those who attended Hogwarts have the right to attend, though," Hermione replied.

"That right could be a problem for Nonie Gale to invoke," observed Penny meaningfully.

"I know," Hermione sighed. "Would you do me a favour?" she asked hesitantly.

"Probably. What is it?" asked Penny.

"Do you think you could write to the Headmistress and explain that your sister-in-law might be moving to Britain in the next few months and ask if there might be a place for your eleven year old niece next year? That could be a way around it, if Professor McGonagall agrees."

"You do realise that anyone who knew you in your Hogwarts years will take one look at Aimée and see an eleven year old Hermione Granger standing in front of them, don't you?" asked Penny dryly.

Hermione snorted. "She really is a mini-me, isn't she?"

"Oh, yes," said Penny. "There is absolutely nothing of her father in her whatsoever."

"Isn't magic great?" asked Hermione impishly. She still had no idea if magic had in some way responded to her wish during her pregnancy for a mini-me but she and Penny liked to joke that under the circumstances, it was a definite possibility. Phoebe was a mixture of both her parents but Aimée was pure Hermione.

Penny sent off the letter with an international post owl and within a week had received a reply. "The gist of it is that it's an unorthodox request but the Headmistress is willing to make an exception since I'm a former student, and one who was deemed worthy of being appointed Head Girl, no less," she announced sardonically.

"I guess it's time to make a decision, then," Hermione conceded, sharing an amused look with her friend. "I'm going to go and have a chat with Aimée."

Penelope nodded and Hermione made her way to her daughter's bedroom.

"Aimée?" she called, knocking gently on the door.

"Hi, Mum. Is everything okay?" Aimée asked, answering the door to her pensive mother.

"Of course, baby. Everything's fine. I just need to talk to you about school."

Drawing Aimée over to the window seat, they sat down together. Hermione drew Aimée into her arms and gave her a hug.

"What's up, Mum?"

Hermione smiled into her daughter's chocolate brown eyes, so like her own, and carded her fingers through her daughter's curly hair. Hermione had learned from her own mistakes and Aimée maintained her hair in a mass of corkscrew curls, instead of brushing it out into a bushy frizziness.

"I know that you've been thinking about what school you want to go to next year. Do you want to tell me your thoughts, beloved Aimée?"

"Muuum! When are you going to stop calling me that?"

"Never!" Hermione tapped her daughter's nose. "You will always be my beloved Aimée."

Aimée huffed in frustration but cuddled into her mother's embrace nonetheless. She may huff and puff about it being embarrassing, as any eleven year old would do, but a warmth spread through her every time her mother called her that. Hermione loved her daughter very much and Aimée knew it.

"So," said Hermione. "Which school is winning at the moment? Hogwarts or Sauveterre?"

"I don't know," Aimée whined. "I really want to go to school with Phoebe and Felix but Hogwarts sounds amazing!"

"Oh, it is. To use a cliché, Hogwarts is absolutely magical. But that doesn't mean it's perfect, Aimée. Britain is still quite prejudiced and you might find it hard to fit in. You're used to a much more egalitarian magical society."

"Why are you asking, Mum? I know I was excited about the idea of going to Hogwarts but I don't really expect to. Aren't I going to Sauveterre?" Aimée bit her lip in puzzlement and Hermione smothered a laugh at just how like herself her daughter was.

"Well, I've been invited to lead a restoration project in Britain. The project is estimated to take approximately six months to a year. If I decide to accept the offer — and I haven't actually decided that yet — you have two choices. You could stay here and go to Sauveterre with Phoebe and Felix. You know that you can always come home during holidays and home weekends. Aunt Penny will be here even if I'm not. Alternatively, you could go to Hogwarts."

"Really? I could go to Hogwarts like you and Aunt Penny?" Aimée's eyes lit up with excitement. "But what would I do the next year, when your project is finished?"

"Again, you have choices. You could stay at Hogwarts, even if I don't stay in Britain. I'd either organise international portkeys for you so that you can come home for holidays or I'd make sure you have somewhere to stay in Britain over the shorter holidays, if you prefer. Once you start making friends, I'm sure they'd invite you home with them. Or you can transfer back to Sauveterre after your first year. Directrice Leclair assures me that won't be a problem."

"Do I have to decide right now?" Aimée asked in a small voice.

"Of course not. You can take time to think, but I'll need to inform both Hogwarts and my prospective employer either way by the end of July, so you'll need to make a decision by about the middle of the month. I'll let you think about it and you know you can talk to me more about it if you want. You can talk to Aunt Penny and Phoebe, too."

"Isn't this the sort of decision the parent is supposed to make?" Aimée asked cheekily.

"Minx!" Hermione laughed. "The final decision will indeed be mine but I don't want you to be unhappy, so you need to be part of the decision. My parents let me choose if I should go to Hogwarts or not when we were told I was magical. They trusted me to decide what felt right for me and I trust you."

"Thanks, Mum," Aimée said, giving her a hug.

The upshot of it all was that at the beginning of July, Hermione accepted the position on the restoration project and Nonie Gale wrote to accept the offer of a place at Hogwarts for her daughter, Aimée. However, Hermione had a bad feeling about returning to Britain (although, if she was being truly honest with herself, she could admit that this was most likely because she had magnified in her mind everything that had happened to her during the war and after, so that now when she thought of Britain, it appeared to her as dark, gloomy and full of nothing but misery) and she made sure she would have a get-out clause in her contract, in case she needed to leave before the end of the contract. This meant that if Ron should discover he had a daughter with Hermione and start to make trouble, Aimée could return home where Penny would look after her, and Hermione would not be stuck in Britain for too long without her daughter.

Upon reading the letter from Nonie Gale, Minerva frowned in confusion, as there was something quite familiar in the handwriting. She was not certain since it had been many years since she last saw it but from what she could recall, it looked almost looked like Hermione Granger's handwriting. Or was that wishful thinking on her part? After all these years, she did not dare get her hopes up that Hermione might come back. Hoping against hope that Nonie Gale was in fact Hermione Granger, Minerva immediately wrote to confirm her acceptance of Aimée Gale as a first year in the coming academic year.

Hermione bought Aimée's books, telescope, cauldron and potions ingredients in the Quartier Magique, thus negating a need to enter Diagon Alley in London. She also had a magical tailor in Montréal liaise with Madam Malkin to provide Aimée's school robes. As for Aimée's wand, while there was a perfectly good wandmaker in Montréal, Hermione wanted Aimée to get her wand from the wandmaker in Toronto who had provided her own custom wand. Hermione's wand was widely regarded as a work of art and even the Montréal wandmaker had admitted that it was far superior to anything he could produce. Aimée was very excited to think she might also be able to get a beautiful wand like her mother's.

In the middle of July, Hermione and Aimée went to Toronto for a long mother-daughter weekend. When they walked into the wand shop, the owner came to greet them. "Ms Gale, it's good to see you again. And this is your daughter? Of course."

At this strange greeting, Aimée looked at her mother in puzzlement. "I was pregnant with you when I got my wand. I rather think that affected the choice of materials," Hermione explained. Aimée immediately looked worried, as though this may not be a positive thing and she were somehow to blame, and Hermione hastened to reassure her. "I can't think of anything better than my beloved daughter being the primary influence in the creation of my wand," she said, tilting Aimée's chin upwards with a finger and kissing her nose. Aimée rolled her eyes and Hermione smothered a laugh at the familiar gesture.

Turning back to the wandmaker, who was grinning at their antics, Hermione addressed the wandmaker. "The wand you made for me is so beautiful that I simply couldn't imagine getting Aimée's wand anywhere else."

"Another custom wand, I presume?" he asked. At Hermione's nod, he continued, "Good! Your wand is most definitely unique and I'm very curious indeed to know if your daughter will also select such an interesting mix of materials."

Aimée went through the same process that Hermione had all those years before and also ended up choosing two wand woods and two cores. In Aimée's case, not one but both cores were as unusual as Hermione's griffin hair core — in Aimée's case, a caladrius feather and a kitsune whisker. The woods were more conventional, however: beech and pear.

"Do you still have the book about wand-making that I recommended for you when you bought your own wand, Miss Gale?" the wandmaker asked.

"Indeed I do, Mr Curran. Yes, Aimée, when we get home you can look up your wand woods and core. It's good to understand your wand, especially when it's so unusual."

"As is yours," the wandmaker remarked.

"What is your wand, Mum?" Aimée asked, not able to remember if she actually knew this. Her mother's wand had just always been there, a part of Hermione, and Aimée had never thought to ask about it until now.

"My wand is cedar, rowan, dragon heartstring and a hair from the tail of a griffin. Dragon heartstring, phoenix feather and unicorn tail hair are the most common wand cores. Anything else is quite rare, although I used to know a girl who had a Veela hair core. I know Ollivander, Britain's main wandmaker, thinks Veela hair makes for very temperamental wands but I believe the hair was from her grandmother. The family bond probably balanced that out and gave her more control over her wand," replied Hermione thoughtfully.

"Yes, I agree with Ollivander that Veela hair makes quite a temperamental wand, much like Veela themselves," commented the wandmaker and Hermione laughed in agreement, remembering the fiery Fleur Weasley, whose wand she had been referring to. "Your mother's wand should be much more stable, however, even though it's an extremely powerful defensive and duelling wand."

"Really?" asked Aimée in astonishment. "Mum's not a fighter. She fixes books!"

Hermione laughed again. "I may not have reason to fight now but that doesn't mean I can't, beloved Aimée. Remember, I went through a war. I was a witch born to non-magical parents, in a place and time where people like me weren't deemed worthy of even being allowed to live, let alone have magic. Hopefully, things have improved since the war but I had to fight for acceptance and respect from the day I first boarded the Hogwarts Express. As the war developed, I was fighting for my very life."

"Will I have to go through that, too?" asked Aimée, wide-eyed.

"I hope not but if people do ask about your blood status, tell them you're a Half-blood. You have a Pureblood father and Muggleborn mother. Half-bloods don't have as much trouble as Muggleborns," answered Hermione sombrely.

"What are Purebloods, Half-bloods and Muggleborn?" asked Aimée in confusion.

"When I was growing up in Britain, so-called blood status was very important. A Muggleborn is a witch or wizard born to non-magical parents. A Pureblood is someone who supposedly only has magical ancestry, although I doubt that's really the case. Pureblood society is very inbred and a lot of the Purebloods I knew weren't very magically strong, or even very intelligent, as a result. I suspect there must have been some less than pure blood mixed into most of the family lines or things would have been a lot worse. Many of the Pureblood families would probably have died out by now without injections of some fresh blood every now and again. Half-bloods are those who come from a mixed heritage, like yourself. Here in Canada, witches and wizards are referred to as having a non-magical, mixed or magical heritage, but I'm sure that in Britain they still use those prejudiced terms."

Aimée nodded, deep in thought, as she ponded what her mother had just said. The wandmaker, however, was curious. "Is Aimée going to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm going to be working in Britain for the next year, so Aimée thought she'd like to try the school I went to. It wasn't all bad and she's heard a lot of stories from me about Hogwarts. If things actually are as bad as they ever were, she can always come back to Canada. We have family here now, who will look after her while I'm away, if need be."

"Hogwarts may not take kindly to a student using a wand that wasn't made by Ollivander," Mr Curran observed and Aimée looked at her mother in alarm. Her wand had not even been made yet but she was already very attached to it.

"In which case, Aimée will be going to Hogwarts with two wands," said Hermione firmly. "However, the Headmistress knows that Aimée is Canadian, so I'm sure she won't mind that we came to a Canadian wandmaker for Aimée's wand. Headmaster Dumbledore would probably have objected, since Ollivander used to give him the details of the students' wands and Dumbledore used that information to help him form opinions of his students. Professor McGonagall isn't that manipulative and, as long as none of the students go around casting curses at people, she won't care what anyone's wand is."

"You realise that I can't put the British Ministry's Trace on Aimée's wand, don't you?" asked the wandmaker.

"And if the Headmistress wants to put it on Aimée's wand after she arrives in Hogwarts, I have no objection," said Hermione with a wink and the wandmaker grinned appreciatively in response.

"What's the Trace?" asked Aimée. Buying her wand had turned into an even bigger experience than she had expected. Of course, nothing beat getting a wand, but she was learning so much!

"In Britain, underage magicals aren't allowed to do magic outside school, so the Trace is applied to monitor underage magic. The drawback to the Trace is that it only shows that underage magic is being performed in a particular location, not who is actually doing it. So those of magical and mixed backgrounds can still do magic at home because it could be of-age family members performing the magic and so no one will investigate. The Ministry relies on parents to police their children but very few actually do. In essence, the law was designed to make it harder for witches and wizards of non-magical backgrounds," her mother explained.

"That's not fair!" snapped Aimée. "Phoebe can do magic outside school!"

"No, it's not fair," agreed Hermione sadly. "But if Headmistress McGonagall wants to put the Trace on your wand, then allow her to do so. If you remain at Hogwarts for your entire schooling, it will fade automatically on your seventeenth birthday. Otherwise, if you decide to go to Sauveterre from your second year on, the Trace can be cancelled. In Canada, you're allowed to do magic when you're underage under the supervision of an adult witch or wizard, in the case of those of magical and mixed heritage, or in your own home in front of only those family members who know about magic, if you're of non-magical heritage."

"Sauveterre is sounding better and better all the time," observed Aimée.

"There's still time for you to change your mind," Hermione assured her. "Directrice Leclair will offer you a place at Sauveterre at any time."

"No, I want to try Hogwarts," Aimée declared staunchly. "But I'm glad to know I have the option of Sauveterre in the background."

"Well, I think we've taken up enough of Mr Curran's time for today. Let's go and get some lunch, then we can decide what we want to do this afternoon," said Hermione, guiding her daughter out of the shop.

Aimée's wand turned out to be as much a piece of art as Hermione's. Both wands had the two woods twined together in concentric spirals, meaning that it would be impossible to separate them. In fact, one would have thought it would be impossible to join them together in such a way! The way the woods were intertwined ensured that they would work in harmony with each other. Aimée was delighted with her wand and kept stroking it, as though it was the silky pelt of the kitsune or the soft feathers of the caladrius who had provided the core.

.o.O.o.

⁶ I speak very little French but apparently the name Sauveterre means "safe haven." It seemed an appropriate name for a secret school of magical studies. surnames dot behindthename dot com / name / sauveterre


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

» I've been informed by saroura92 that my understanding of Sauveterre is wrong. It really means save earth rather than safe earth or haven. However, there's been a village called Sauveterre since 1442, so I'm keeping that name for the school and I'll just think of the school having been named after that village instead. Thanks, saroura92, for giving me the correct meaning.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 7**

Back home in Montréal, the first thing Aimée did, after showing her Auntie Penny her beautiful new wand, was run to the bookshelves to find the book on wand-making, so that she could learn all about it. She and Hermione cuddled up together on the sofa as Aimée read aloud. She began with the woods, since they were not uncommon, saving the best — the core — until last.

.

_Beech: The true match for a beech wand will be wise beyond their years, if young, and rich in understanding and experience, if full-grown. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. When properly matched, the beech wand is capable of a subtlety and artistry rarely seen in any other wood, hence its lustrous reputation. Beech is highly coveted as a most desirable, richly hued and highly prized wand wood.¹_

_Pear: This golden-toned wood produces wands of splendid magical powers, which give of their best in the warm-hearted, the generous and the wise. Possessors of pear wands are usually popular and well-respected and have never been found in the possession of a dark witch or wizard. Pear wands are among the most resilient and may still present a remarkable appearance of newness, even after many years of hard use.¹_

.

Aimée's voice faded and she looked up at her mother, her brown eyes full of questions. "Both woods seem very similar in their properties. They both bond with witches and wizards who are wise. Tolerant and open-minded, warm-hearted and generous — that's just variations on a theme. Is that right, Mum?"

"It sounds like it," agreed Hermione. "Certainly, the description of you as tolerant, open-minded, warm-hearted and generous is correct. You move back and forth between the magical and non-magical worlds without thought. You don't even notice the differences. Watching you with the Clearwaters, Bellamys and your friends, you have great capacity for love. You have everyone wrapped around your little finger but you would do anything for them in return. And there's no question that you have a wise head on your shoulders, beloved Aimée. More than I did at your age, I think. I had the intelligence, which you also have, but I'm not sure I had the wisdom. I was too inclined to trust blindly in adults and books. Of course, adults can be trustworthy mentors and books are an invaluable source of information, but there is wisdom in not accepting everything at face value. Professor Snape, my Potions Professor, used to complain that I had a habit of regurgitating facts from books, instead of questioning and drawing my own conclusions from the information given. You certainly have that wisdom, baby. You question everything you read and, while you want to believe the best in people, you also expect them to earn your trust. You have a healthy degree of scepticism in you."

"Why didn't you ever question, Mum?"

Hermione sighed. "I didn't fit in at primary — junior — school. That's another of the differences between Canada and Britain. In Canada, non-magical parents are told about their children's magical abilities as soon as they first do accidental magic but, in Britain, nothing is said until the children receive their Hogwarts letters at age eleven. So the non-magical parents are left to struggle with children who do strange and sometimes frightening things when they're feeling overly emotional. They see their children have these abilities but they don't know what they are and that's worrying. I was bullied at school because of my intelligence, since I didn't know how to be tactful about it when I was younger; because of my looks, since I had bushy, frizzy hair and buck teeth; and because of the strange things that happened around me. I had no friends except for my books and relied very strongly on my parents and teachers, who did their best to protect me from the bullies. All that led me to trust adults and books without question, because they were the only things I had ever been able to rely on. Even at Hogwarts, it took a while for me to settle in and make friends."

"What happened to your friends?" Aimée asked cautiously. She had often wanted to ask this, since Hermione never seemed correspond with anyone from Britain, but she did not want to upset her mother by asking. Now seemed the right time to ask the question.

"Your father and one other boy were my best friends at Hogwarts. I regarded the other boy as a brother. But he always chose your father over me. Always. In the end, when it came to a choice between your father or myself, he chose your father. To be honest, I'm not sure why I was surprised by that. By the time I left, I felt like they had only been friends with me for as long as I was useful to them and then, once the war was over, they had decided there was no need to keep being friends with me. That being the case, I saw no need to keep in touch with them," Hermione explained, somewhat bitterly. "They were my closest friends. My other friends were all also friends of my two supposedly best friends — one is even your aunt but we only actually became friends because of my friendship with your father — and I didn't want to put them in the middle, nor did I want them telling your father where I was, so I let the friendships fade."

Aimée looked at Hermione in shock. Her mother had always been careful to be as neutral as possible about the people in her past, not wanting to turn Aimée against her father and his family in case she should ever decide she wanted to meet them. Hermione took a deep breath. She did not want to tell Aimée about her last, devastating encounter with Ron but, at the same time, she needed Aimée to understand that she could not just absolve him and Harry over what had happened.

"Don't judge them too harshly, Aimée. We were all children who had been through a devastating war, and who were all suffering from PTSD to a greater or lesser degree, but we had no one to turn to for help. There were no counsellors or mind healers to help us with the nightmares and the horrors we had experienced. That undoubtedly played a very large part in our breaking apart. I couldn't see clearly then but with time and distance, I realise that now. I'm not sure I can ever forgive and forget, because I was too badly hurt by them, but I can understand, at least to some extent."

Aimée put this aside to consider in depth later and turned back to the book. "The main difference between the two woods is that the pear wood seems to provide strength and the beech wood provides subtlety and artistry. Isn't that a contradiction?"

"Not necessarily. Strength doesn't need to mean brute force. A spell may be subtle but will still require magical power to perform it. The ease and artistry some of my professors showed in their magic was awe-inspiring, but the reason they made it look so easy was because of their power."

"So the two woods complement each other then?"

"It would seem so," Hermione agreed.

"What about your wand? Do your two woods also complement each other?"

"Indeed they do. As Mr Curran said, they're both woods that tend to make wands that are suited to defence and duelling."

"What about the cores?" Aimée wanted to know.

"Them too. I've had dragon heartstring in all my wands, so it must really suit me. It makes wands which learn quickly and are very powerful. They can do very flamboyant spells. Griffin hair also produces wands that are very strong in defensive magic. The woods and cores in my wand all complement each other."

Aimée looked at her mother appraisingly.

"What's that look for?" Hermione laughed.

"I just never think of you as a fighter. You're not an Auror or a curse-breaker and I've never seen you duel or do defensive magic," Aimée explained.

"Remember, that when I got this wand, it was just after a war, so defence was very important to me at that time, especially as I was expecting you and was feeling very protective of the baby that was growing inside me. If I were to get a new wand now, it would quite likely be very different."

"So does that mean your wand doesn't suit you any more?" Aimée asked in alarm.

"Not at all. It just means that my priorities in life are different now to what they were then. The things that caused me to choose these components are still important, but perhaps no longer the most important. I would fight to the death to protect you but I'm not continually expecting a fight now, the way I still was back then."

Aimée nodded in understanding. "But is your wand still a good fit for you?" she persisted.

"Very much so. Dragon heartstring wands always bond strongly with their owner and a griffin hair can only be used as a wand core for a witch or wizard who a griffin would deem worthy of befriending; hopefully that part of me hasn't changed, even if my priorities might have. My wand is bonded as strongly with me now as it was the day I got it, despite my having changed somewhat since then. Remember, we all change and develop as our life experiences influence us."

"Okay," Aimée said. "Soooo… Caladrius feather and Kitsune whisker." She leafed through the book until she found the right pages and began to read aloud again.

.

_Caladrius: The Caladrius is a snow-white bird that lived in kings' castles. It is also said to be able to cure sickness of individuals by taking the illness unto itself. It then flies away, dispersing the sickness into the sky, thus purging and curing itself in the process. If the person was unworthy of saving, the Caladrius refused to look at them. Wands with a Caladrius feather tend to choose witches and wizards with an affinity for healing and potion-making.__⁷_

_Kitsune: These are many-tailed foxes from Japan. The more tails a Kitsune has — they may have as many as nine — the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers and abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While they can use this ability to trick others, they can also be faithful guardians, lovers, friends and wives. Kitsune, like their abilities, can be benevolent or mischievous or malevolent. It is said that a Kitsune's greatest asset is not his or her magic, but intelligence, wit and misdirection. When a Kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold and they gain the ability to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. They are said to have infinite wisdom and omniscience. Kitsune wands always choose highly intelligent witches or wizards. A wand containing a Kitsune whisker core will tend to Light or Dark magic according to whether Kitsune the whisker came from was benign or malign. The wand will show an affinity with whatever magical ability the Kitsune had. A wand with the whisker of a nine-tailed Kitsune, will choose a highly intelligent witch or wizard, with great perception and understanding. As a witch or wizard's magical core increases as they grow older and exercise their core more, so too will the power of the wand increase over time. The long life of the Kitsune will translate to the wand and it will not easily wear out.__⁸_

.

Both witches were silent as they tried to absorb all the information about the wand. Eventually Aimée broke her stunned silence and spoke. "Mr Curran said the whisker came from a nine-tailed, benign fox. He didn't say what magical abilities the Kitsune had, though."

"Well, we know from the woods that your wand will tend more towards Light magic than Dark. And if a Kitsune's greatest asset is wit and wisdom, then it complements the beech and pear woods."

Aimée cheered up at that. "And with the pear wood and Kitsune whisker, this will be a very long lasting wand, won't it? I won't need to go through more than one, like you did!"

"Cheeky!" Hermione kissed Aimée's head. "My first wand was taken from me during the war. I never felt comfortable with my replacement wand. It was far too similar to the wand of one of the worst and most evil Death Eaters, a witch called Bellatrix Lestrange. Using a wand with the same wood and core as hers really disturbed me, so when I came to Canada, I decided to get a new wand and as soon as Mr Curran had made it, I destroyed the other one. Hopefully, I won't ever need to replace my current wand. You shouldn't need to replace yours either, as it will grow along with you."

"Is it common to need to replace your wand? I don't mean because it was damaged in an accident or because you lost it or had it taken from you, but because it doesn't work well for you?"

"It's not common, no. It's not at all unknown, though. Significant events can change us sufficiently that our wand won't be compatible for us any more. Some wands become so strongly attuned to their owner's magic that should this change drastically, should a Light witch or wizard become dark or vice versa, for example, or even if they should go through a deep emotional upheaval, then it will no longer work for them."

Aimée reread the paragraph about the Kitsune. "It says that a nine-tailed Kitsune can hear and see anything happening anywhere in the world and is omniscient. I don't fancy being able to hear or see anything I want to. I don't want to have that kind of ability."

Seeing the scared look on her daughter's face, Hermione hastened to reassure her. "First of all, wands don't give you abilities that aren't already inherent within you, they merely allow you to channel those abilities more easily. You've shown no signs of prophecy, so we can rule out omniscience, thank Circe!"

Aimée grinned, having heard many times of her mother's contempt for Divination. She loved the story of Hermione storming out of Divination in a huff! Hermione had deliberately brought up the subject of Divination, knowing that Aimée would be reminded of that story. Thankful that it had cheered her daughter up, she continued.

"The book says that the wand will show an affinity with whatever ability the Kitsune had, so it will work well with similar magic. I don't know if Kitsune have healing abilities but, given that your other core is a Caladrius feather, it's possible. As for the ability to hear or see anything, that probably translates into the wand choosing a witch or wizard of great perception and understanding, since that's what the ability to see and hear anything should result in. It doesn't mean that you'll be able to spy on Phoebe at Sauveterre!"

"Awww, shame!" Aimée pouted, then let out a giggle. Hermione pounced on her and tickled her until she cried out for mercy.

Hermione was due to start her new job on Monday, the third of September. She was quite glad about this, as it meant that she would be able to see Aimée onto the Hogwarts Express on Saturday, the first of September, with no problems. She did not want Aimée to miss out on her first journey on the Hogwarts Express as this was where many first years formed their friendships, so sending Aimée to Hogwarts by any other means was out of the question. However, although she kept telling herself she was being paranoid, she did not trust Ronald Weasley and did not want to risk running into him on the platform — hell, she did not want to run into _anyone_ she knew on the platform! She still felt too badly hurt by wizarding Britain in general, and by Harry and Ron in particular.

The chances were high that a number of Weasleys would be there. Teddy Lupin, the son of the late Remus and Nymphadora Tonks Lupin and Harry Potter's godson, would be starting his fourth year; the baby Bill and Fleur Weasley had been expecting when Hermione left, although Hermione did not know if it was a boy or a girl or what the child was called, would be starting their second year; and Ron's child with Romilda, that they were expecting at the same time as Hermione, would be in either his or her first or second year, depending on exactly when he or she had been born — Hermione had not been interested enough to find out. And these were only the Weasley grandchildren that Hermione knew about. The Weasleys were a prolific family and Hermione was sure the family had expanded greatly over the years. And then there were all the other people who had known her at Hogwarts and now had children attending the school.

Hermione had discussed with Penny and her parents, the only ones who knew that she was in actuality Hermione Granger, whether or not she should tell Aimée the truth about her identity. There was no question in any of their minds that Aimée would be identified as Hermione's daughter the moment someone who had known Hermione Granger saw Aimée. The Clearwaters, who got the _Daily Prophet_ regularly, assured her that the search for Hermione Granger had died down, however, Hermione was still very nervous indeed about taking Aimée to Platform 9¾. Hermione was still convinced that Ronald would claim Aimée if he knew about her and Hermione would lose custody of her. Not only that, she would probably be forbidden all contact with her daughter. Hermione had little doubt that Ronald would treat Aimée unkindly and she was not inclined to let him take her daughter away from her. The Clearwaters understood Hermione's nervousness and had to admit that her concerns had merit.

"It really would be a lot easier if Aimée had decided to go to Sauveterre," sighed Hermione.

"Who said life would be simple? Hell, when was anything concerning you and Hogwarts ever simple?" teased Penny, and Hermione banged her head on the table in defeat.

"You could just insist Aimée attend Sauveterre. You are the parent, after all," suggested Sophie.

Hermione shook her head. "Then she'd always wonder and it would hinder her settling in at Sauveterre. Besides, what reason would I give Aimée for suddenly withdrawing her from Hogwarts? Especially after I told her it was her decision which school she would attend."

"You may have a point," Sophie conceded.

Eventually, Hermione decided just to get there early and leave before too many people arrived. If she kept her head down and avoided looking people in the eye, then hopefully, people glancing at her would not associate Nonie Gale's brown, red and blonde curls with Hermione Granger's bushy brown mane, and would therefore not look at her too closely. She also decided that she would wear wizarding robes, something that Hermione Granger had rarely done, preferring her Muggle jeans. Anyone dressed Muggle on the station platform would certainly generate a second look, since non-magical parents cannot access the platform. Concerns had been raised that magicals, who had no idea how to dress and act Muggle, entering Platform 9¾ from within Kings Cross station were attracting too much attention, therefore, walk-in fireplaces had been built and the wards redesigned. It was now recommended that magicals floo or apparate to the platform. Only the Muggleborn now used the Kings Cross entrance and with the profusion of security cameras in the station, even they were advised to floo from a magical friend's home whenever possible, although of course this did not apply to the first year Muggleborns.

Hermione was still nervous, however, short of disguising herself, this was the best plan she could come up with. If she disguised herself, she would have to explain to Aimée the reason why and, despite her feelings towards Ronald, she had always been careful not to bad-mouth him to his daughter. It was highly tempting to do so but it went against her moral code. Despite her contempt for and deep distrust of Ronald Weasley, if Aimée ever wanted to know her father or his family, Hermione would do what she could to facilitate that — in Canada, where Hermione had equal rights within the magical community, despite being a Muggleborn.

Hermione's restoration project would be taking place at an old country estate in Warwickshire. She had chosen to rent a house in the nearby town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, wanting some hustle and bustle around her and being unable to resist the picturesque birthplace of the Bard. Her father's friend, Todd Fox, had found them a pleasant home to rent and the move went smoothly.

Hermione had decided not to get hooked up to the floo network as she did not want to court attention from the Ministry, and so she and Aimée took the train to London on the thirty-first of August. They arrived in the afternoon and went out for an early meal before going off to see a show in the West End. Aimée had agonised between _The Lion King_, _Matilda the Musical_ or a ballet. She was concerned that _The Lion King_ or _Matilda_ might be too childish for her but in the end they decided to go to _The Lion King_ and Aimée loved it. She skipped out the theatre humming the tunes and Hermione smiled to see her daughter so happy.

The following morning, they left their hotel close to Charing Cross Road with Aimée's trunk shrunk and in her pocket. All Aimée would have to do to resize it would be to tap it twice with her wand. Hermione had bought her an expanding trunk with feather-light charms and security wards. Aimée had placed a drop of blood on the lock and now only she could open the trunk. They entered the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle entrance and Hermione transfigured her raincoat into a robe as she entered. Moving straight to the fireplace, she threw a pinch of floo powder into the fire and, in her best Canadian accent, said, "Platform 9¾." Green flames flared and she and Aimée stepped through to the platform.

It was only half past ten, earlier than most magicals usually arrived at the platform, especially now that they could just floo or apparate in. Hermione stayed with Aimée until about ten to eleven but upon hearing the voices of Bill and Fleur Weasley nearby, decided it was time to go. Hugging Aimée tightly, a teary Hermione quietly said goodbye to her daughter. "Don't forget to write. You can send your letter with one of the school owls. I'll see you at Christmas, beloved Aimée." Turning on the spot, Hermione apparated out before the Weasleys could notice her, breathing a sigh of relief that she had not been seen by anyone she knew.

Aimée settled down with an updated copy of her mother's favourite book from when she was in school, _Hogwarts: A History_. She was browsing for the umpteenth time the section about the Houses and their attributes. She was not sure which House she wanted to be in. She knew that both her parents had been in Gryffindor but she could easily see herself in Ravenclaw. _'If I get into Hufflepuff, though, I could stay under the radar while I find my feet. And that thought probably makes me the perfect Slytherin,'_ she thought impishly. _'Oh well, Mum told me she doesn't mind what House I'm in, as long as I'm happy in it, so I guess I just have to trust however they sort us.'_

When the train started moving, Aimée still on her own, decided to go and look for some other first years. She was welcomed into a compartment and sat down to get to know her year mates. When the train finally stopped, Aimée left her trunk on the train as instructed, tapping it with her wand to enlarge it, so that it would not be overlooked and left behind. She followed the other first years to where a very large man was shouting for them. _'He must be Hagrid,'_ she thought. Hermione had told Aimée about many of the staff but had not told Aimée how close she had been to most of them, since they would not know the name Nonie Gale. She had decided to wait until the Christmas holidays to tell Aimée about her past, since she first wanted to wait and see what the reaction to Aimée was.

The first years made their journey across the lake and gasped in awe at their first sight of the castle. They silently followed Hagrid up the steps to the castle doors, where they were met by a short, plump woman with flyaway grey hair and a warm smile, who introduced herself as Professor Sprout. It was usually the job of the Deputy Head to welcome the first years but, currently, that position was filled by Severus Snape. The tall, dark, dour man had proved to be too formidable and unsettling a welcome for the already overwhelmed and nervous children and so the kindly Professor Sprout had volunteered to take over that particular duty, to Severus' great relief.

She gave the firsties a speech about how the Houses would become their families while at Hogwarts and led them into an ante-chamber, where she asked them to wait until she returned. When they were led into the Great Hall, Aimée's eyes immediately went to the enchanted ceiling, and she gazed in wonder at the vision of the night sky. A stool and shabby hat were placed at the head of the line of first years and, to their astonishment, the hat began to sing. After the song was over, they were called out alphabetically to put the hat on so that it could sort them into a House. It did not take long until Aimée's name was called and as she walked forward, she heard a number of gasps from the head table. She looked up at the head table to see several shocked faces but then the hat covered her head and she could see no more.

_"Well, you're interesting, young Miss Gale. You are completely your mother, aren't you? I don't detect any of your father in you at all. Magic truly is a wonderful thing. Now, where to place you? Your parents were in Gryffindor, of course, although your mother would have done very well in any House. I thought she would be best suited for Ravenclaw but she was determined to be in Gryffindor. She was right in the end, mind you. She really was a true Gryffindor, with a lion's heart. Of course, given the political climate of the time, I couldn't even consider putting her in Slytherin, despite her Slytherin traits. Like your mother, you would do well in any of the Houses but, interestingly, I see you genuinely have no preference yourself. Well, thank you for trusting me, Miss Gale. And what's this? Such an unusual wand you have: beech wood, pear wood, a Caladrius feather and the hair of a nine-tailed, benevolent Kitsune. Oh, my."_

_'You can tell what my wand is?'_ she thought in shock to the voice that was whispering in her head.

_"Indeed I can, Miss Gale."_

_'Do you know what special magical abilities the Kitsune had? I know the wand will do well with those magicks but I don't know what they are, except we suspect they might be healing abilities, and I'd like to be prepared,'_ she asked with interest.

_'That is something you'll have to find out for yourself, Miss Gale. Now, time to sort you. Your father's family has always been in Gryffindor but with you, I think it's time to start a new tradition. And being in this House will certainly help you along the direction your heart wishes to take. Yes, better be _SLYTHERIN_.'_

The last word was shouted out for all to hear and Aimée went to join the Slytherin table. The sorting continued efficiently after that, Aimée's sorting having taken the longest, until the final firstie, Reuben Weasley, was sorted into Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress, welcomed everyone and made some announcements and then the feast started.

.o.O.o.

⁷ Taken from/paraphrased from mythical-creatures-and-beasts dot com / mythical-creatures-list dot html and musesrealm dot net / deities / Caladrius dot html and _Wikipedia_

⁸ Paraphrased from _Wikipedia_ and en dot wikifur dot com / wiki / Kitsune_(mythology) — except for the information relating the wand to the Kitsune's abilities, which I made up. I've been selective in what information regarding the Kitsune I have depicted here. Nothing I've read suggests that Kitsune have healing or related abilities but there's no reason to suppose they might not.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 8**

While the students were eating, a hushed conversation was taking place at the staff table.

"I swear that Miss Gale is the spitting image of an eleven year old Hermione Granger," said Pomona Sprout, who had taken her seat at the staff table, in surprise.

"Yes, I think we all noticed that," replied Minerva McGonagall, exchanging a look with Severus Snape. The Headmistress could tell that, like her, Severus thought there was every chance that this girl could finally give them a lead regarding the whereabouts of Hermione.

"Gale — I don't recognise that name," observed Filius Flitwick. "Was she one of the Muggleborns you visited, Severus? Pomona?" The visiting of Muggleborn witches and wizards to inform them of magic was now undertaken jointly by Professors Snape and Sprout. Technically, it was the job of the Deputy Head but with Severus being quite intimidating, there was something the parents found very reassuring about the Hufflepuff Head of House. Between them, they made a very good team, not that Severus would ever admit it.

"She's the Canadian student, Penelope Clearwater's niece," replied Minerva, with a puzzled expression, which was echoed by the rest of the staff. How could a girl who looked so like Hermione Granger be Penelope Clearwater's niece? "And I believe her mother's name is Nonie Gale. Of course, that could easily be an alias," she continued.

"I don't remember Miss Clearwater having any siblings," Filius commented thoughtfully.

"Nor does Miss Granger, as far as I recall," confirmed Severus.

"Why are you talking about Hermione?" demanded Harry Potter, who had dropped out of Auror training not long after Hermione's disappearance to become the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.

"Did you even look at that child, Harry?" asked his wife, Ginny, incredulously.

"Yes, but Hermione's daughter would never be a Slytherin," he replied confidently.

There was an astounded silence. Then Severus spoke. "I actually thought you'd finally grown up, Potter, but it seems I was wrong," he said sourly. "You haven't learned anything from the past. You still think that Slytherin automatically means evil. Have you forgotten Peter Pettigrew already, Potter? For your information — and I'm certainly in a position to know — despite people's fondness for saying that there isn't a witch or wizard who went Dark that didn't come from Slytherin, not all Death Eaters were Slytherins. Believe it or not, not all Dark witches and wizards over the course of history were Slytherins. Do you spout this nonsense to the students, Potter?"

"That's not what I meant!" Harry exclaimed, flushing with embarrassment. "I just meant that Hermione was in Gryffindor, and could easily also have been in Ravenclaw, but I never heard that the Hat ever considered sorting her into Slytherin like it did with me."

"If a Muggleborn had been sorted into Slytherin in those days, she would have met a fatal accident within the first month — possibly less. The Hat did not sort Muggleborns into Slytherin back then precisely because of the danger it would have placed any such student in," Severus explained wearily.

"Not all students are sorted into the same House as their parents, Harry," Pomona observed, trying to make peace. "Otherwise, where would you sort a student who had parents who had been in different Houses? No, the Hat sorts students according to the House that best suits _the student_, not according to which House their parents were in, otherwise Sirius Black would never have been in Gryffindor."

"In truth, Miss Granger when we knew her, had some very Slytherin traits," Filius commented. "I haven't forgotten about Marietta Edgecombe, or the way she lured Dolores Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest and left her at the mercy of the centaurs. And wasn't the idea for the secret Defence Club that year hers? I even seem to recall hearing that she had blackmailed Rita Skeeter. Quite Slytherin indeed."

"Enough," Minerva sighed, seeing Harry bristling and deciding it would be politic to change the subject. "The students are beginning to take notice of our conversation and I would really rather we not start rumours flying about Miss Gale the moment she steps foot in the castle. Please continue your conversation —if continue you must — somewhere that the students can't hear you."

Severus nodded graciously in acknowledgement and began to converse with Pomona about some potion ingredients he needed from her greenhouses. Towards the end of the meal, Minerva spoke to Severus again. "Perhaps you could have a word with Miss Gale, Severus?"

"Why him?" Harry demanded. "Hermione was _my_ best friend."

"A best friend who you ignored when she was in trouble," Severus sneered. "And just what reason would you give to speak to the girl, Potter? I at least have reason to speak to her in my capacity as her Head of House."

"Her mother was my best friend!" Harry repeated.

"That's debatable, but you continually repeating that Hermione Granger was your best friend still doesn't give you sufficient reason to speak to Miss Gale about her parentage, especially when we don't actually _know_ that she is Miss Granger's daughter. Nor do we know — if Miss Granger's daughter she is — just what she has been told about you and Mr Weasley. What exactly would you say to her, Potter? If you go blundering in recklessly, you could cause more problems than you solve."

"Will you two stop squabbling?" Minerva snapped. "Harry, I agree with Severus. He should speak to the girl as her Head of House. No one else is to approach her on the matter. That's my final word on the subject."

"Fine!" Harry grumbled childishly, annoyed that he had been forbidden to talk to the girl about her mother.

After the Feast, Severus went to the Slytherin common room and welcomed all the students, as he did every year. After his usual speech about expected behaviour and looking out for each other, he finished off by saying that he and his prefects were also available for any of the students and then sent them off to bed.

Aimée was thrilled that Severus Snape was her Head of House. She had been brewing Potions with her mother for a year already and she found the book on brewing family potions, which he had written, to be a work of art. She had compared his instructions and recipes to the recipes in other books for the same potions and had shown an instinctive understanding for how he had adapted the potions to make them more efficacious. This had inspired her to start experimenting with potions recipes on her own, under strict supervision. Hermione trusted Aimée not to blow up the kitchen or melt her cauldron when following a potions recipe exactly but for safety's sake, would not allow her to experiment without Hermione or Penny present. Aimée understood and accepted the safety measures imposed by her mother but was looking forward to being taught by Professor Snape and she hoped that he would be an encouraging teacher.

The following morning, Severus handed out timetables to his House. After the war, Minerva McGonagall, now Headmistress, had proposed that they mix up the Houses more, instead of the continual Slytherin/Gryffindor and Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw division.

.

_"Classes very rarely, if ever, have a different mix of Houses, which means that students barely get to know half of the school, half of their year-mates even, in their entire seven years of schooling. It's time to break down the barriers between the Houses and that begins with mixing the classes up a bit more," she said firmly._

_The staff had agreed with her. It was something they had all proposed many times but Albus Dumbledore had refused to consider it. For some reason, he had been determined to keep Slytherin and Gryffindor together, despite the animosity between the two Houses. Of course, some classes would still end up in the traditional split under Minerva's new system but Severus, upon hearing Minerva's proposal, immediately pled to have his Gryffindor/Slytherin classes split before anyone else could get a chance to make their own case._

_"Potions is the most volatile of all the classes and it only gets worse when you have Gryffindors or Slytherins sabotaging each other's potions. That there have been no fatal accidents to date is purely down to luck — even I can't watch every cauldron at the same time. I would prefer not to have Slytherins and Gryffindors together before fifth year at the earliest. By that time, they're hopefully more concerned about their OWLs than causing mayhem." Seeing the nods of agreement, Severus decided to push his luck a bit further and continued. "The other class where a Gryffindor/Slytherin split is best avoided is Defence. Do we really want to _invite_ those particular students to throw hexes at each other? They manage to do that quite enough on their own accord without our encouraging it!" he said drolly and his colleagues chuckled in amusement._

_"All right, so we avoid pairing Gryffindor and Slytherin in Potions and Defence. Does anyone else have any particular requests to make?" Minerva asked. No one did and so that became the norm. Of the seven subjects that the first and second years took, Slytherin now had two classes each with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and three with Ravenclaw. The two classes with Gryffindor were deliberately the least volatile of all — Astronomy and History of Magic. Minerva had taken on board what Severus had said. She knew it would take time for past rivalries to die down completely and she saw no point in courting trouble in the meantime._

.

This policy was bearing fruit, as they could now see many more inter-House friendships occurring. However, as long as there was still a visible wariness between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Minerva felt that these two Houses were better off sharing classes that did not involve wand-work, and the members of staff who had taught under Albus Dumbledore's leadership had all reported an improvement in their classes involving Gryffindor or Slytherin. Even Harry had reported how different the atmosphere in his Gryffindor/Hufflepuff and Slytherin/Ravenclaw classes was to that of the Gryffindor/Slytherin classes of his youth. Robert Hilliard, the Transfiguration Professor, could not comment. He was a few years older than Harry and, as a Ravenclaw, had never experienced a Slytherin/Gryffindor class and so had no frame of reference for comparison.

Aimée perused her timetable eagerly. She had begun to make cautious friendships with her year-mates. Fortunately, they had been more interested in her Canadian background than in her heritage. She did mention that her aunt had been in Ravenclaw and her mother in Gryffindor but did not mention her father. Nor did she correct the girls in her dorm, when they all assumed that the reason they did not know any Gales was because her father was Canadian. She had been warned that the British wizarding world was far less liberal than Canada's and she had a feeling that her schoolmates might look down on her because her mother was unmarried and she did not even know her father's name. It had only been one night but, so far, she was getting on well with the other Slytherin first year girls: Zephyr Sykes, Hyacinth Higgs and Anthea Pucey.

"Great!" she exclaimed happily. "We have Potions first."

"Potions? No, I want to learn _magic!_" exclaimed Zephyr Sykes, with a wink. She and Aimée had met on the Hogwarts Express and were pleased to have been sorted into the same House. They had enjoyed discussing books and what they hoped to learn at Hogwarts, with Aimée most looking forward to Potions and Zephyr most looking forward to Charms. They had been joking ever since about whether or not Potions, which did not require a wand, was magical.

"But Potions _is_ magic. It's just subtle and not flashy," teased Aimée. "And Professor Snape is brilliant. I can't wait to learn from him."

"How do you know Professor Snape is brilliant?" asked Anthea curiously. "You're Canadian. How do you know anything about the Hogwarts professors?"

Aimée rolled her eyes. She did not notice Severus hovering nearby. He was still handing out timetables during this conversation and was curious to hear the answer to that question himself.

"I researched them!" she said with exaggerated patience. "Besides, I've been brewing Potions from Professor Snape's book on family potions for the last year. He modified all the potions to make them simpler to brew and yet more efficacious. I looked up some of the potions recipes from before he modified them and his methodology is simply brilliant. He's a genius!" she said enthusiastically.

Severus did not know whether to be amused by this first year's endorsement of his abilities or indignant over her presumption. _'Cheeky minx!'_ he thought, deciding to be amused. He was looking forward to his first class with these students and would be watching Miss Gale with great interest. He decided not to approach her about her background just yet. He wanted to get a feel for the impudent little imp first.

Severus stalked into the room of apprehensive first year Slytherins and Ravenclaws, his robes billowing behind him. _"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." ⁹_

At this, Aimée gave a shiver. She could feel that entire speech resonating deep within her. Well, apart from the bit about dunderheads, of course. She did not like to blow her own trumpet but she knew that she was anything but a dunderhead.

Professor Snape the proceeded to barrage the room with questions. Aimée's brown eyes opened widely at these questions, since they were not in the first year textbook. She looked around the classroom and when she saw no one else volunteering to answer, she cautiously raised her hand.

"Miss Gale," the Professor's silky voice purred. "Do enlighten us, please."

She answered all the questions correctly and, just to test her, he added one more question. It was very advanced and something that no first year should be able to answer, no matter how far ahead they had read. Aimée took a moment to think about it. She did not know the answer but did her best to work it out. Thinking of what she knew about the properties of various ingredients and how they interacted with each other, coupled with her knowledge of ingredient preparation, she made an educated guess.

"Very good, Miss Gale. Ten points to Slytherin."

At the end of the lesson, she walked out of the dungeon classroom floating on air at the praise she had received from her Head of House. Despite the fact that the lesson had only been introductory, she had enjoyed it immensely and was already looking forward to the next Potions lesson. From Potions, she made her way to History of Magic, which would be with the Gryffindors. Her mother had warned her that this subject was taught by a ghost who droned on in a monotone. It was very hard to stay awake in his classes, so Hermione recommended always reading the lesson's chapter in advance as it helped with concentration.

This class was held with the Gryffindors and Aimée looked at them curiously, her gaze falling on a red-headed boy who looked quite like her cousin, Phoebe.

"What are you looking at, Slytherin?" he asked pugnaciously.

Aimée looked at him in shock. "I was just looking round the room and happened to glance at you for a second. I apologise if I somehow offended you; it certainly wasn't intentional."

"What kind of weird accent is that?" he asked, ignoring her apology, which no one else in the room had thought necessary, not even the other Gryffindors.

"Canadian," she replied.

"If you're Canadian, what are you doing at Hogwarts?" he sneered.

"My parents and aunt all attended Hogwarts," she explained.

"My parents and aunt all attended Hogwarts," he mocked. "It still doesn't make you British. We don't want any filthy foreigners here, especially not rotten Slytherins!" he pronounced looking rather pleased with himself. Everyone else in the room looked horrified.

"Speak for yourself, Weasley!" protested one of the Gryffindors. "I have no problems with either incomers or Slytherins. The war's been over a long time."

"Well, you ought to! Slytherins are all evil!"

"Excuse me," asked another Gryffindor, trying to move the discussion away from the subject of Slytherins before it got out of control. "But isn't Victoire Weasley your cousin and isn't her mother French?"

"Well, yes, but _she's_ not French. Besides, she's a Weasley. My family have been going to Hogwarts for hundreds of years."

"And the Delacours have been going to Beauxbatons for hundreds of years. They're an even older and more respected family than the Weasleys," observed Hyacinth Higgs drily.

"In France. That doesn't count," the obnoxious red-head said dismissively.

Fortunately, because it looked to an appalled Aimée that the class was about to erupt into an all-out brawl, so angry had the odious boy made everyone, the Professor entered the room. Or rather, he floated up through the floor.

At the end of the lesson, Aimée was rudely and roughly shouldered aside by the disagreeable red-head as he barged out of the classroom. Fortunately, Zephyr and Hyacinth caught her before she went slamming hard into one of the desks.

"Are you all right?" asked Zephyr.

Aimée just nodded, too shocked to speak. Physically, she was fine but she was very shaken up. She had never experienced such enmity before. Zephyr and the other Slytherins made sure Aimée was safely in the middle of them, as they all made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Some of the first year Slytherins might have been inclined to look down on her because they did not recognise the name Gale but Reuben Weasley had just united them. He had attacked one of their own and they would support her, no matter her heritage. Slytherins stuck together!

At lunch, the staff heard the gossip about what had happened in the first year Gryffindor/Slytherin History of Magic class and looked at each other uneasily. Severus badly wanted to step in and give the detestable Weasley brat detention for the next month but unless Aimée made an official complaint, his hands were tied.

Suddenly, they became aware of an altercation at the Gryffindor table. Victoire Weasley was yelling at Reuben, and it looked like her good friend and Harry Potter's godson, Teddy Lupin, was holding her back from attacking her cousin. Listening to the Weasley girl, Severus considered it lucky that Reuben Weasley could not understand the insults she was spitting at him in French or he would probably have exploded by now. Instead, he was ignoring his cousin in favour of the enormous mound of food piled on his plate.

_'Just like his father,'_ thought Severus, shaking his head in disgust.

Aimée, however, understood every word that Victoire was saying and was in awe of the wide range of the epithets that were flowing out of the older girl's mouth. Hermione always pulled Aimée up on bad language but this was not swearing. The invective was original and inventive but still fell within the bounds of acceptable language. Aimée decided that she had to get to know Victoire Weasley. She wanted to learn how to admonish someone with such fluency and aplomb. She was not sure she would ever do so — she knew that she was far too polite and mild-mannered for that — but she had a feeling that just having that ability would be empowering and would therefore do wonders for her self-confidence.

The next day she happened to see Victoire sitting in the library with a blue-haired boy and tentatively approached her. Despite Victoire lambasting her cousin the previous day, Aimée was not sure that Victoire would welcome a Slytherin approaching her. She had learned by now that friendships between Gryffindor and Slytherin were few and far between.

"Excuse me," she said hesitantly. Victoire and her companion looked at her. They did not look particularly welcoming but neither were they looking at her with distaste, the way Reuben Weasley had. Thinking it would be simpler, she slipped easily into French. "You're Victoire Weasley, aren't you? I'm sorry to bother you but the librarian doesn't seem to be here and I was wondering if there are any books in French in the library? I thought you would probably know."

Aimée then turned to the boy who was sitting at the table with Victoire. "I'm Aimée Gale," she said in English, holding out her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to ask if you speak French. I apologise, I didn't mean to be rude or exclude you. I was merely asking Miss Weasley if there are any French volumes in the library."

The boy smiled at her and shook her hand. "I'm Teddy Lupin. And, yes, there are French books in the library. I'm sure Victoire will be happy to show you. She misses not being able to discuss them with someone who can understand them."

Aimée grinned back at him and then held her hand out to Victoire, who shook it eagerly. "Excuse us, Teddy!" Victoire cried, dragging Aimée over to one of the stacks. From then on, a friendship started up between the three students, even though Victoire was in her second year and Teddy in his fourth.

Reuben Weasley, however, disapproved of this friendship and never hesitated to express his dislike of Aimée. His attitude towards the girl was worsening and the vitriol he was spewing in her direction was becoming ever more vicious. He had also taken to pushing and shoving her whenever he caught her in the corridors alone, telling her that she was not wanted in Hogwarts and should just do everyone a favour and leave. Aimée did not know how to handle the boy, who was beginning to frighten her quite badly. She began to take great care not to traverse the corridors alone but there were times when she could not avoid it and, on these occasions, he always seemed to find her.

Aimée did not want to snitch on Reuben, knowing it would only make matters worse. While Professor Snape had been unable to act upon what had happened in the first History of Magic class without her making a complaint against Reuben, were he actually to be a witness to the boy's behaviour, he would then be able to take steps. When he had subsequently heard the boy animadverting further on the subject of Aimée Gale, he had been appalled by the malevolent attitude Reuben was demonstrating towards the Slytherin first year, and had gleefully given the boy a detention.

To make it worse, knowing how important flying was to Weasleys, Severus had decreed that the detention should take place during the Gryffindors' flying lesson. School rules stated that students could only fly while on Hogwarts grounds or join their House Quidditch team _after_ they had been officially signed off by the school's Flying Instructor, for which they needed to undertake at least one official flying lesson. Despite the fact that the Flying Instructor, Ginny Weasley Potter, was in fact Reuben's aunt, it was not sufficient that she had often taken him up flying at home. He still had to take an official class at Hogwarts. This meant that Reuben had to go begging his aunt for a special lesson.

Reuben fed Ginny a story about why he had missed the scheduled Gryffindor class and she agreed to give him a catch-up lesson. Then Severus informed her of the real reason why Reuben had missed the class. Ginny was not only furious with Reuben over his behaviour, but she was breathing fire over the fact that he had lied to her. Even Severus Snape had to admit that Molly Weasley, Reuben's grandmother, was one formidable witch when she was in a temper and Ginny took after her mother. She gave Reuben a scolding, the like of which the spoiled boy had certainly never received from his own parents. Simmering with resentment over what he perceived as unfair treatment, he took it out on Aimée.

After the missed flying lesson, Aimée therefore hesitated to report Reuben's escalating violence towards her, as she did not want to be the victim of his increased temper should he receive another detention because of her. As they learned more magic, she was fully expecting him to start hexing her — probably in the back — and she had asked one of the older Slytherins to teach her how to cast a shield charm. It was not yet very strong but was probably strong enough to protect her against hexes cast by another first year and the more she used it, the stronger she could feel it becoming. Much as she loved her wand, she was beginning to wish for one strong in defence, like her mother's, as she needed every advantage she could get against this boy.

.o.O.o.

⁹ _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8,_ by JK Rowling.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 9**

After one particularly bad day a couple of months into the school year, Aimée decided she wanted some respite. She could have spent the rest of the evening until curfew in the common room but what she truly needed, deep down inside her, was to lose herself in brewing a potion. Aimée always found this particularly calming and restful. She therefore decided to brave Professor Snape in his office, to ask if she could do some extra-curricular brewing.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Aimée knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office.

"Come!" she heard. Pushing the door open, she entered the room.

Severus glanced up from his marking and raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw her. "How can I help you, Miss Gale?" he asking, moving aside the pile of parchment and gesturing for her to take a seat.

Aimée fidgeted nervously but Severus waited patiently. This young girl, who reminded him so much of Hermione Granger, fascinated him and he revelled in being able to encourage her intelligence and enthusiasm for learning, which he had been unable to do with Hermione. He also recognised that this would be the perfect opportunity to talk to her and perhaps learn more about her background.

Screwing up her courage, as the dark, dour man was rather intimidating, even though he had been quite kind to her, Aimée asked the question she had come to ask. "Excuse me, Professor. I was wondering if it might be possible to brew sometimes in the evenings? I used to do a lot of brewing at home and I miss it. I know we brew during Potions class but I'd like to brew more often, if possible."

Severus sat back in his chair, considering the young girl. "And is there anything in particular you wish to brew, Miss Gale?"

After a moment, Aimée delved into her book bag and withdrew a tattered notebook, with a bookmark poking out. When she opened the notebook to the page, he was amused to see that the bookmark was in the shape of a fox's head and it looked like she had probably made it herself.¹⁰ She handed the open notebook to him and he glanced down at it, noting that the recipe written out in the notebook did not seem to be familiar. That surprised him and he read it more carefully. It looked quite simple to make but was rather intriguing.

"Tell me more about this potion, Miss Gale," he suggested and, to his astonishment, the girl blushed.

"My Mum was tortured during the war," she began in a small voice. "It hasn't caused any lasting damage as such, but she does have some lingering side effects. She often gets muscle spasms and in cold weather she gets some joint pain. She's tried a lot of potions but nothing magical helps, so she tried using Muggle methods. She uses bath salts and heat rubs, Tiger Balm, arnica, valerian, capsaicin… none of them are effective on their own but using a combination of them usually helps her. The problem is that she's living along while I'm in school and she can't apply the various creams and balms everywhere by herself — her back often has the worst spasms but she can't reach to put the creams on. I thought I'd try and create a potion using a mixture of the elements of each, that she can pour into her bath, and soak in it. Then she'll only need to use one thing, instead of messing around with different combinations, and she won't need to worry about how to apply it. I haven't made it for Mum yet but I think it should work. I'm confident about all the ingredients but I'm not sure about some of the timings and stirring patterns. Would you mind checking it for me, before I brew it, please?"

"You created this?" Severus asked in wonder. Even he, with his natural talent for potions, had not created his own potions at such a young age and with so little training. He had another look at the potion, mentally analysing and calculating as he read. This was a problem that he shared with Aimée's mother, as did a number of other people since the war, and he had not yet been able to develop a solution. He often considered Muggle methods when developing new potions, but knowing that they had no equivalent to the torture curse, it had not occurred to him to do so in this instance.

"I notice you have included elements of topical pain relief and Pepperup Potion? I understand the pain relief but why the Pepperup?" he asked in confusion.

"It's always worse when Mum's very tired or run down, or sometimes even if she's just been sitting in one position for too long, so I was trying to create something that would combine muscle relaxation with something that would relieve fatigue," she explained. "I didn't want the potion to relax her too much, as that kind of overtiredness might make her even more vulnerable to the spasms and make the pains worse, but neither would it be good for her if it stimulated her too much. By using the Pepperup externally, that ought to refresh her rather than energise her."

Severus was astounded. The overall concept was so simple and yet utterly brilliant. He had no doubt that this would work but grabbed a sheet of parchment and ran off some quick Arithmancy calculations as confirmation. He adjusted a couple of the stirring patterns slightly but the rest of the recipe looked perfect. "Miss Gale, this is not something I often say to _any_ pupil, let alone a first year, but I'm truly impressed. This is outstanding work. I think your potion will do exactly what you intend. I have no problem with you brewing it this evening."

"Err, Professor? Will you be still be here while I make the potion? Mum won't let me brew alone when I'm experimenting. She doesn't stand over me to check every step but she insists on an adult being nearby in case something goes wrong. I know it's an inconvenience for you but if you're going to be here marking papers anyway…" she trailed off nervously. To her relief, Professor Snape's lips curled into a smile, before he quickly schooled his face back into its usual impassivity.

"That's a very wise precaution, Miss Gale. Don't worry, I'll be here for some time yet. Even if I didn't have papers to grade, I rather believe I would choose to stay. I'll be very interested to see the finished product."

Aimée gave him a beaming smile and got to work. She took out her cauldron from its cupboard and, to Severus' approval, gave it a quick wipe with a clean cloth to ensure it was clean and free of any contaminants. She filled the cauldron with water at the sink and then set it up at her usual workbench. Pulling out of her bag a box of commercial bath salts, some chilli peppers, _Arnica Montana_, and various essential oils and herbs, all used for joint pain, as anti-spasmodics or as relaxants, she then made her way over to the store room to gather the remaining ingredients that were neither part of her standard potions kit nor items that she had purchased specifically with this purpose in mind. As Severus watched her out of the corner of his eye, he was puzzled to see that she was moving quite gingerly.

He waited until the potion was at its final stage of simmering and walked over to check on the potion. She extinguished the flame beneath the cauldron and lifted it up, to move it over to the cooling racks, where she had set out vials so that she could decant it. As she moved the cauldron over to the cooling racks, she suddenly hissed and nearly dropped the cauldron but Severus quickly caught it, levitating it over to the cooling racks with a flick of his wand.

"What's wrong, Miss Gale?" he asked, as she began decanting the potion.

"Nothing, sir," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

"Why don't we try that again? What's wrong, Miss Gale?"

"Nothing, sir," she repeated. "I tripped earlier and I guess I'm a little sore. Perhaps I should test my potion on myself, huh?"

"What aren't you telling me?" he sighed. "Why else would you hesitate to tell me you tripped?"

"Because I don't like making a fuss?" she said with false cheer, trying to put him off.

"Nice try, but I haven't been a Professor for over thirty years without recognising when a student is trying to prevaricate," he said, with a twitch of his lips.

"I really did trip, Professor," she assured him earnestly, emboldened by his near laugh.

"And what caused you to trip, Miss Gale? I haven't found you to be particularly clumsy."

"We all have our moments," she shrugged.

He guided her chin up with one long finger until she was looking directly into his fathomless, black eyes, which were looking at her kindly. "I'd like an honest answer, please."

"I don't want to talk about it, Professor Snape," she said reluctantly.

"Funny, I don't remember _asking_ if you wanted to talk about it, Miss Gale. I do believe I _told_ you to answer my question," he said. "Now, please tell me what really happened."

Professor Snape still had a finger under her chin, obliging her to keep looking at him. "I was pushed down some stairs," she finally admitted.

"Who pushed you, Miss Gale?" he asked gently. She looked into his compelling, black eyes and saw only sympathy.

"It was Reuben Weasley," she admitted.

"Come," he said. "You can collect your potion tomorrow. Right now, I'm taking you to the infirmary to be checked over by Madam Pomfrey. Don't argue, Miss Gale. As a member of staff of this school and your Head of House, I am responsible for your health and well-being. Now, come along."

"Please can we decant the potion first, Professor Snape?" she asked in a whisper. "If any contaminants fall into the cauldron, the potion will be ruined."

Severus sighed, knowing she was correct, and picked up the ladle himself, quickly decanting the potion and leaving it to cool. That done, Severus did a quick _Scourgify,_ cleaning Aimée's cauldron for her, and with a flick of his wrist, sent it back to the first years' equipment shelf. Aimée sighed and walked over to her work bench to collect her book bag. She bent down to grab her bag and nearly toppled over. Severus strode over and picked it up for her. He waited at the door for her catch up with him and it was immediately obvious that she was having problems moving. Severus looked at Aimée and debated the best way to get her to the infirmary. She was just a little slip of a thing so he could easily carry her but he doubted that she would appreciate that, any more than she would appreciate being levitated.

"Can you walk if I support you, Miss Gale?" he asked.

"I'll try, sir. I don't want to put you out, though. If I had a stick or something to lean on, I'm sure I could manage by myself," she replied bravely.

"Don't be ridiculous, Miss Gale. There's no need to be a martyr. Come on, this way."

Severus led Aimée off to the hospital wing. By the time they got there, she was leaning heavily on him and as they approached the doors, he lifted her up to carry her the remaining distance. He strode through the door with the young girl in his arms and the door banged behind him.

"Severus Snape! Must you always bang my doors?" the Mediwitch snapped as she came out of her office. "Oh, dear. What happened? Put her down over here," she said, catching sight of the student in his arms.

"She was pushed down some stairs by another student," Severus replied, depositing the girl on the bed Poppy had indicated.

Poppy bustled over and got her first real look at the young girl, who was the spitting image of Hermione Granger at that age. "Oh my," she gasped.

Unseen by Aimée, Severus gave a brief shake of his head.

"What? What's wrong?" Aimée asked, beginning to panic.

"Oh, nothing dear. I just mistook you for someone else," Poppy said.

"Probably my Mum," Aimée replied cheerily. "She went to Hogwarts. I look just like her."

Severus decided to make use of the opportunity that had presented itself to him. "Really? Perhaps when Madam Pomfrey has finished treating you, we can have one of the house elves bring us some tea and you can tell me about her."

"You taught her, Professor. You knew her," said the brown-haired girl in surprise.

"I have taught very many students over the years, Miss Gale. I would not call any of them forgettable but it is easy to overlook those who left Hogwarts some years ago when your focus is on those who are here today."

Poppy finished her diagnostics and summoned a couple of potions, which she handed to Aimée. "Drink these and then you can have tea with Professor Snape. I'm keeping you here overnight, so when he leaves you can get yourself undressed and go to sleep."

Taking hold of the potions vials, Aimée looked at them curiously. Uncorking the vials she sniffed each one and nodded to herself in approval before drinking the potions. Severus' eyes gleamed with suppressed mirth. _'Little know-it-all! She can only be Hermione Granger's daughter,'_ he thought, sharing a look of amusement with Poppy.

"Caddy," called Poppy, leaving the Aimée with her Head of House. With a pop, the elf assigned to the infirmary appeared. "Please bring tea for Professor Snape and Miss Gale," she instructed the little elf, who bowed and popped away.

"May I ask a you something, Professor?" Aimée asked shyly.

"Isn't that what you just did?" he replied, his black eyes gleaming with mirth. Aimée rolled her eyes and Severus smirked in response.

_'Merlin, but she's just like her mother!'_ he thought.

Taking the smirk as permission, Aimée asked her question. "I appreciate your taking care of me, Professor, but why would you want to have tea with me? I'm sure you don't do that with every Slytherin who has to spend time in the infirmary?"

"You are correct, Miss Gale, but I know the families of all the other students in my House and I'd like to get to know you better. I understand you're from Canada. Are you settling into Britain all right? It must be quite different here from what you're used to."

"Oh, yes. It's very different. The wizarding world there is more open to non-magical ideas and culture than it is here. And, of course, we're from Montréal, so I'm used to speaking two languages. Half the time I don't even notice whether I'm speaking in English or in French, so I'm having to be very conscious of what I'm saying here."

"Well, we do have one other student here who is also bilingual in French and English, if you ever feel homesick for the sound of French."

"Yes, I've met Victoire already. She's become a good friend — unlike her cousin. I don't know what I've done to make him hate me so much," she said sadly.

"Sometimes we don't need to do anything. Sometimes it just happens and there is no logical or rational reason that could ever possibly be acceptable," said Severus, speaking from bitter, personal experience. "Has this problem with Mr Weasley continued unabated since the start of the year?"

"It's been getting worse. I'm scared of him," Aimée confessed, staring into the depths of her teacup.

When she put her cup down, he tried to reassure her. "I will be taking official action against Mr Weasley for his despicable behaviour. Do not ever fear to come to me if the problems continue."

Aimée nodded hesitantly, biting her lip. Severus almost smiled at the memory of the young Hermione Granger doing precisely the same thing. This prompted him to ask her the burning question. "Tell me about your mother, Miss Gale. Do you know what her name was before she married?"

"She's not married," Aimée replied in a small voice, worried that he would look down on her for the fact that she had no father.

Severus raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I understand her name is Nonie Gale?" Aimée nodded. "Is Nonie perhaps a nickname? I don't recall anyone by the name of Nonie Gale attending Hogwarts while I've been a Professor, and I've been teaching here for over thirty years."

Aimée looked confused. "No, it's not a nickname. Nonie Gale, that's her name. I know she went to school here. She told me lots about it."

"Do you know what House she was in?"

"Yes, sir. She was in Gryffindor. She said my father was too, but I don't know his name." This last was whispered.

A disquieting thought was beginning to dawn upon Severus. "Miss Gale, may I ask how old your mother is?"

"She'll be thirty-three in a few weeks," the puzzled girl replied.

"I shall have to wrack my brains and see if I can remember her. Before I became Deputy Headmaster, I tended not to pay much attention to students from other Houses, apart from their academic abilities. Perhaps you could tell me one of the stories she has told you about her time in Hogwarts? It may help me to bring her to mind."

Aimée giggled and told her favourite story. "Mum told me she tried to take all the electives on offer in her third year but she ended up storming out of Divination before the year was over. On the one hand, she was absolutely horrified at the thought that she had actually dropped a subject as it went against everything she believed in but, on the other hand, she also thought the subject was a load of nonsense — she says you can't be taught Divination, you're either a Seer or you're not — and the teacher was a bit of a fraud. I always thought it was hilarious the way she despises Divination and yet she was still so distraught at the idea of dropping a subject.

"Here's a picture of her," she finished, digging her diary out of her book bag and showing him a photograph of herself with Hermione, which Aimée had pasted inside the front cover. "She also told me that she managed to brew Polyjuice Potion in the girls' toilets in her second year. She said the potion was perfect but she accidentally used a cat hair instead of a human hair and turned herself into a cat girl for several weeks. That's why she always insists I be very careful about checking my ingredients when brewing."

_'Oh, that's Granger, all right,'_ thought Severus, as Aimée's parentage was now confirmed. _'Or one half of it, anyway,'_ he brooded at the back of his mind, as he responded to the girl's story. "Polyjuice is an extremely advanced and complex potion. You must get your potion skills from your mother." He mentally snorted to himself. _´You certainly didn't get your potion skills or intelligence from your father, if my suspicions as to who he is are correct.'_

At that moment, Poppy and Caddy came back. Caddy took the tea tray away and Poppy shooed Severus out of the infirmary so that Aimée could go to sleep. Severus returned to his office, where he pulled out Aimée's student file, which he held as her Head of House. He looked up her date of birth and this corroborated his suspicion from earlier. The colour drained from his face as he realised exactly who Aimée Gale's father was. Sitting down heavily in his chair, he debated whether or not to mention this piece of information to Minerva but, in the end, decided to keep Hermione's secret. If Albus Dumbledore's portrait ever got wind of this, he would insist on interfering and such meddling would only end up hurting Hermione and Aimée. He would confirm to Minerva and Potter that Hermione Granger was indeed Aimée Gale's mother but her father would continue to remain a mystery.

The next day after classes, Severus was striding purposefully towards the Gryffindor common room when he saw a head of unmistakeably blue hair. He called the young Metamorphmagus to him. "Mr Lupin!"

"Yes, Professor? Is something wrong?" Teddy asked politely, as he warily made his way over to the ill-tempered man.

"Please find Mr Reuben Weasley for me and send him to my office immediately," Severus commanded.

"Yes, sir," Teddy sighed, as he gave up all hope of spending some time out on the Quidditch pitch with his friends before supper. He decided to start his search in the Gryffindor common room. _'If he's not there and no one knows where he is, perhaps I should ask Uncle Harry if I can see his map for a minute,'_ he decided. The map had been created by Harry's father, Teddy's father and their two friends, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, when they were at Hogwarts and it showed the location of everyone in the building. It was very precious to Harry because it was one of only two things he had of his father's. Although Teddy had also lost his parents when he was an infant, he had much more to remember his parents by, including people who were happy to talk to him about them, something which Harry had always lacked. However, Teddy knew that Harry would willingly let him use the map to locate Reuben.

Fortunately, since Teddy had a feeling that Professor Snape wanted to see Reuben sooner rather than later, the first thing he saw when he walked into the common room was a mop of Weasley red hair. "Reuben," he called.

"Yeah?" the younger boy grumbled, not even looking up from his game of chess.

"Professor Snape wants to see you in his office. Now!" replied Teddy.

"What does he want? He's not even my Head of House. I'm in the middle of a match. I'm not going. If it's important, Uncle Harry, as my Head of House will come and talk to me," Reuben pouted.

_'Why did I have to get stuck riding herd on this idiot?'_ thought Teddy in dismay. He walked over to the table where Reuben and one of the other first years were sitting and picked up the board.

"Hey!" yelled Reuben in annoyance.

"First of all, the game will still be here when you get back; just leave the board on your bed and no one will touch it. Secondly, Professor Snape is a member of staff in this school, so when he says, 'Jump!' you say 'Yes, sir,' and you jump! Thirdly, he may not be your Head of House but he's the Deputy Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster beats Head of House. Fourthly, there is no one in this school by name of _Uncle Harry,_ not even for you, Weasley. During term-time, it's Professor Potter and only Professor Potter, unless he happens to invite you to visit him in his family quarters. Now get up off your annoying, lazy, little arse and go down to Professor Snape's office. Trust me, you don't want him to come after you."

"You can't talk to me like that! My father is a war hero! When he hears about this…"

"When he hears about this, it will probably be as part of an official letter of warning from the school that if you don't buck up your ideas and improve that attitude of yours, you'll be facing expulsion," said Teddy in disgust. "And your father isn't the only war hero around or have you forgotten that your grandparents, all your uncles and most of your aunts are also war heroes? As were my parents? As were most of the staff in this school, including _Professor Snape._ Being the son of a war hero is nothing special, Weasley, not unless you honour all those who fought and died, which you clearly don't."

Teddy handed the chessboard to Reuben's opponent and nodded towards the boys' dorms. The young firstie took heed and disappeared with it. Teddy reached out and grabbed Reuben by the ear, dragging him out of his seat. Of all Teddy's Potter and Weasley cousins, Reuben was the only one who was a spoilt, arrogant brat and Teddy despised the younger boy.

"Gerroff me!" Reuben yelled, swinging his fists. Hearing the commotion, one of the prefects, Oscar Wood, came over.

"What are you doing to that firstie, Lupin? Let go of him!" the prefect ordered.

"Professor Snape wants to see him but he couldn't be bothered going. Apparently, he's not subject to the same rules as the rest of us because _his father's a war hero_," said Teddy scornfully.

"So what? So is mine! So are most of our parents," Oscar replied in confusion.

"That's what I was trying to tell him," Teddy explained.

"So what? I'll tell you what!" blustered Reuben. "My father's also a famous Quidditch player!"

"Famous?" Teddy laughed derisively. "He's a second-string player for a team that has been bottom of the league for over a century. He has never actually played in a winning game in his entire professional career. Your aunt was one of the top scoring players of all time when she was playing professionally and was on Britain's world cup team, as was his father," he added, pointing at the prefect whose father, Oliver Wood, had once been Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain and had begun his professional career with one of the top teams, Puddlemere United. Ronald Weasley, on the other hand, had joined his beloved Chudley Cannons, who had not won the league since 1892. Not only that, but he was widely known to be facing an ignominious dismissal from the club for his erratic and unreliable performances as the Chudley Cannons' second-string Keeper.

Reuben was bright red with anger and humiliation and Teddy could see that he was on the verge of erupting violently. Teddy exchanged a resigned look with Oscar. "I'll go," he said wearily. Making his way out the common room, he could hear Oscar giving Reuben a rollicking and wondered just how many points the stubborn twit would lose Gryffindor.

Teddy made his way down to the dungeons and knocked on Professor Snape's office door. "Enter," he heard and pushed the door open.

"Professor Snape?" he said.

"What is it, Mr Lupin? Where is Mr Weasley? Are you incapable of performing this small task? Surely it's not that hard to spot that red hair, or does it blend into the background too much in the Gryffindor common room?" said Severus with a sneer. For the most part, he had got over his hatred for Harry Potter's and Teddy Lupin's fathers but when either Harry or Teddy messed up, the sneers tended to reappear.

"No, sir. I found him. But he refused to come. He seems to think that because his father is a war hero and professional Quidditch player, he's above the rest of us and doesn't need to answer to you," said Teddy, disdain clear in his voice. "Oscar Wood is dealing with him."

Severus stared at the boy in disbelief. Never, in all his years of teaching, had a pupil refused a summons from him. Not even Draco Malfoy, his own godson, and also a self-entitled brat in his youth, had ever ignored a professor in this manner. Even Hagrid, who Draco had despised, had received a certain amount of obedience from the younger Malfoy. Severus finally found his voice. "Thank you, Mr Lupin. That will be all."

Just as Severus stood up, ready to go storming off to Gryffindor tower and retrieve the Weasley brat — by force, if need be — Oscar Wood came through the door, levitating a frozen Reuben Weasley in front of him. "I believe you wanted to see him, Professor?" Oscar asked, with a cheerful grin.

"Indeed I do. Thank you, Mr Wood. That will be ten points to Gryffindor for making sure he comes. Unfortunately, it won't be enough to make up for the points he is about to lose," said Severus with a smirk.

Teddy exchanged a conspiratorial look with Oscar. "I think we expected as much, Professor. I'm sure Gryffindor House will make their feelings plain to Weasley," he said, as he and Oscar left, closing the door behind them.

Severus released Reuben from the _Petrificus Totalus_ and levitated him so that he was in a standing position. However, before the boy could run out, as he was sure that Reuben had every intention of doing, he flicked his wand and a chair came floating over behind the boy, bumping into the back of his legs, making him sit down reflexively. Severus then applied a sticking charm so that the boy could not get out of the chair until Severus released him.

Severus looked at the boy with cold eyes. "Well, Weasley. I understand that you think it beneath you to pay attention to your teachers. I'm here to teach you just how erroneous that assumption is. Before I do that, though, we're going to discuss the matter of your assault on Miss Gale."

"What does it matter?" the boy said dismissively. "She's just a slimy snake. You people shouldn't be at Hogwarts with decent folk."

Severus could not believe his ears. He always knew that Ronald Weasley was a prejudiced fool but his son was surpassing even the father. His voice became even quieter and silkier than normal, a sure sign of impending danger.

"I suggest you curb your tongue, boy. You're in enough trouble already. In case you haven't been keeping track, you're in trouble for physically assaulting Miss Gale, for refusing to come to my office when summoned, for rudeness, and for prejudice. Understand this, the war was over a long time ago. Prejudice is no longer acceptable in Hogwarts. Nor are you better than anyone else here in Hogwarts. Learn to be polite and to treat others with courtesy and respect, otherwise, if you keep up that disgusting attitude, you will be expelled.

"Now, for your punishment: twenty-five points from Gryffindor and week's detention for each of your infractions. Just in case you can't work it out for yourself, that means you have just lost Gryffindor one hundred points and you have a month's worth of detentions. Next time, it will be fifty points and a fortnight's detention for each infraction, so make sure it doesn't happen again. Be here at seven o'clock this evening for your first detention. Your detentions will be served primarily with me but also with Mr Filch when I have other duties. Now get out of my sight," he ordered and Reuben fled.

.o.O.o.

¹⁰ lonnies dot dk / 2012 / 08 / printables-foxy-bookmarks


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 10**

Reuben Weasley was absolutely furious that he would be treated like this. _'How dare that git give _me_ detention? Gale shouldn't be in this school anyway; she deserves everything she gets. Stupid Slytherins sticking together!'_ he thought in anger and went storming off to his Uncle Harry to complain about the punishment levied on him by Severus Snape. Harry, as Reuben's Head of House, queried the punishment in the staffroom that very evening. Reuben had again tried to downplay it and when Harry challenged Severus, he was soon put in his place.

"He pushed Miss Gale down a flight of stairs, Potter. And, no, it wasn't an accident. It was entirely intentional. He has been verbally abusing her since the first day of the school year and he takes every opportunity to push and shove her — usually into something hard and painful."

"Reuben wouldn't do that," Harry protested automatically.

Severus sighed. "Just like Ronald Weasley wouldn't beat up his girlfriend? Reuben Weasley is his father's son: lazy, ignorant, prejudiced and with a more violent version of Molly Weasley's temper. You're doing it again, Potter. You're absolving Weasley without even investigating to ascertain what actually happened."

"How do we know that she's not lying? It's his word against hers in this instance?" Harry demanded.

"Once I found out about today's incident, I did some asking around. As a result, I've received several witness accounts, and not solely from my Slytherins, regarding Mr Weasley's abysmal treatment of Miss Gale. Let me tell you that Miss Weasley and Mr Lupin were among the students making the strongest complaints," Severus replied.

"Harry," said Ginny wearily. "You don't believe any more than I do that Reuben is innocent."

"No," agreed Harry sadly. "But as his Head of House, I should at least check on the evidence before tacitly approving such a harsh punishment."

"Harsh? Quite frankly, if the school rules and the Board of Governors would allow it, I would give him an infinitely harsher punishment than mere detention and points loss!" exclaimed Severus incredulously.

Harry regarded Severus steadily. "Severus, if you had awarded him detention for six months, I wouldn't have said a word. But such a severe loss of points is harsh because you've punished the entire House and not just the one boy who is guilty."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "The entire purpose of awarding or deducting points is so that the House will bring pressure to bear in order to bring in line one whose behaviour is unacceptable. I will not rescind the points forfeited by Mr Weasley, however, should his attitude not improve, I will make sure to punish only him."

"Should we perhaps inform his parents?" suggested Pomona Sprout. "Had this been Ronald or his brothers, Molly would never have stood for it. We would have been drowning in Howlers by now! Perhaps they can rein in their son?"

"I'm afraid that Ronald is raising his son to be as reprehensible a reprobate as he is. Even Mundungus Fletcher is a more admirable and upstanding citizen than Ronald Weasley," said Minerva, her disapproval clear. "Other than Peter Pettigrew, I've never been so disappointed in one of my cubs. I know that Ronald Weasley's siblings and their spouses all despise him, even Ginevra and Harry here. Molly and Arthur are at their wits' end with him."

"_Weasley_…" scorn and disdain were dripping from Severus' voice, "is a pathetic excuse for a father and I never cease to be surprised that he is the son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, who were admirable parents to each and every one of their children. He's an amoral, feckless, irresponsible, selfish, lazy, _lout_ who has three children — that he knows about, anyway; it wouldn't surprise me if he's fathered more, given his promiscuity — but who sees nothing wrong with ignoring two of them completely.

"Their mother hasn't received so much as a single knut in support from him. Not only that, but when Mr George Weasley decided to help support his nieces, Ronald tried to stop George from giving Miss Parkinson a job. Ronald told George, in the middle of Diagon Alley no less, that if Miss Parkinson needed a job, and I quote, _then she should get one at a brothel in Knockturn Alley, like the slut she is_. And this despite the fact that he is the only person she has ever had sexual relations with — and that solely because he drugged her. He has admitted as much. He's even quite proud of it.

"In the Muggle world, Ronald Weasley would have been arrested for rape and for not supporting his children. He's hardly a prime exemplar of decent and admirable behaviour and he's raising his son to be a petty thug, just like himself. Most of the pupils barely tolerate young Mr Weasley. Miss Gale, on the other hand, is bright, popular and intelligent. She has developed a potion — a first year with one month's magical schooling, no less! — that I have been trying to create for years and have failed miserably in my endeavours."

There was a stunned silence. "That's highly impressive," said Filius Flitwick in awe.

"She truly is her mother's daughter, just without all the incessant hand-waving." Severus sat back to await the inevitable reaction and it was not long in coming.

"Her mother? You've spoken to Miss Gale? She's Hermione's daughter?" piped up Harry, predictably honing in on the comments about her mother rather than the extraordinary achievement of developing at the age of eleven a potion that had baffled the Potions Master himself, and ignoring all the rest.

"Yes, I have spoken to her and I have no doubt that her mother is Hermione Granger. However, Miss Gale is unaware of this fact. She knows her mother by no name other than Nonie Gale, so please don't interrogate her about her mother. Don't write to Miss Granger either — I already sent her a letter informing her about today's incident. I also informed her about the punishment that has been levied upon the boy but, despite that, I rather doubt she will be too interested in receiving a letter from you right now, given the circumstances."

"Harry, I agree. Wait until we receive a reply from Hermione before you contact her and don't tell anyone else that we seem to have found her. She's not going to want to be overwhelmed by Weasleys when one of them has just attacked her daughter," interjected Minerva, looking apologetically at Ginny, who needed in acknowledgement.

"Are you sure it's really her?" Harry asked plaintively, his green eyes shining with hope.

Severus relented. "Her mother was a Gryffindor. Her mannerisms are pure Granger. She also told me the story about her mother storming out of Divination and not going back, and the story of the Polyjuice accident. She even showed me a picture of herself with her mother. It is quite remarkable just how much like her mother she is."

"That's Hermione," Harry breathed excitedly.

"Severus, what are you going to do with the potion Miss Gale created?" asked Minerva curiously.

"I'm going to patent it in her name and then I'm going to brew large quantities of it, because I can guarantee that there will be a market for it. I even have use for it myself," he replied, although he would use Epsom Salts which he would purchase in bulk, instead of the small box of commercial bath salts that Aimée had used.

"What is the potion?" asked Pomona curiously.

"Madam Gale suffers from muscle spasms and occasional joint pains as a result of being subjected to the _Cruciatus_ Curse during the war — something that many people who have suffered the curse experience. I have not yet managed to created a cure or even simply a magical means of alleviating the symptoms. Apparently Madam Gale has been using a variety of Muggle methods, none of which are completely successful on their own but which, when combined, are apparently more so than any magical method currently available. Miss Gale has created a new potion that blends elements of the various Muggle methods Madam Gale has been using together with elements of certain existing magical potions. The potion is quick and straightforward to make — anyone who can brew a Pepperup or basic pain relief potion can brew this — and I have absolutely no doubt that it will be effective. It's not a cure but it will treat the symptoms and bring relief. The potion is topical and is applied by simply adding it to your bath and soaking in it. It will also aid with the symptoms of arthritis and can even be used as a simple feel-good relaxant in your bath, as it won't cause any harm by using it even if you have no medical need of it."

Neville Longbottom whistled. He had taken over the Herbology position from Pomona, who was semi-retired. She still lived in the castle and continued her Head of House duties, as there were currently no other Hufflepuffs on staff apart from Madam Pomfrey¹¹, but she no longer taught any classes. Instead, Neville taught Herbology in her place but he actually lived outside the castle. His wife, Hannah Abbott, was the new proprietress of the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, and the couple lived on the premises, with Neville flooing to Hogwarts every day. "That is utterly brilliant," he said.

Neville was another one who had suffered from the torture curse during the war. He had led the resistance against the Carrow twins, who were running the school for Voldemort during the last year of the war, along with Ginny Potter, then Weasley, and their friend, Luna Lovegood. The students had regularly been tortured and Neville had often taken on the punishments of younger pupils in addition to his own, in order to protect them as best he could. He had therefore experienced the curse very many times over the course of that year. Luna and Ginny had luckily escaped any after-effects but Neville had not been as fortunate. However, unlike his parents who had been tortured into insanity, the _Cruciatus_ had affected him physically rather than mentally.

Severus had spent years suffering the _Cruciatus_. It was the Dark Lord's favoured form of reprimand when one of his Death Eaters failed or displeased him. The Dark Lord had tortured him innumerable times and had also made other Death Eaters torture him on occasion. Only his superb _Occlumency_ shields had prevented him from losing his mind to the pain. He had survived but the physical effects lingered.

Hermione Granger had been subjected to the curse on only one occasion, but for an extended period of time. It had been at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, whose _Cruciatus_ was second to none in its viciousness. Even Voldemort himself had not taken as much enjoyment from casting that curse as the insane witch had. For Bellatrix Lestrange, causing pain to others was pure pleasure. Voldemort may have experienced satisfaction in causing pain but he had completely disconnected himself from even the veriest modicum of a sense of pleasure, and so torture was more a tool to him. Other than Severus, Hermione was the only person who had survived such intense torture by Bellatrix with both her life and her sanity intact. However, even Severus had not been held under Bellatrix Lestrange's _Cruciatus_ for such an intensive, single session as Hermione had.

Severus could see that he was not the only one who was looking forward to testing this potion. It would seem that Neville would be very happy to try it too. Severus had every confidence that Hermione would be thrilled with her daughter's Christmas present for her this year and, as an additional present, she would be bursting with pride over Aimée's achievement. Privately, he was very thankful that Aimée clearly had her mother's brains. _'It would have been such a waste if Miss Gale had her father's intellect rather than her mother's,'_ he mused. He was also surprised that no one else had yet asked about Aimée's father but realised that they had all assumed that Gale was Hermione's married name, a misapprehension he had chosen to further by referring to Hermione by the ambiguous title of 'Madam' instead of the more precise appellation of 'Mrs' or, in her case, 'Miss.'

_'It's a good thing none of them know when young Miss Gale's birthday is, or they'd all be far more interested in the girl's father.'_ When he looked up her date of birth, Severus had worked out that the timing was right for Aimée to be the daughter of Ronald Weasley. Had Aimée been one of the youngest students in her year instead of one of the oldest, there would have been plenty of time for Hermione to move on from Ronald Weasley and meet someone new prior to her daughter's conception. He was disconcerted by how much this idea disturbed him.

"Have you noticed her wand?" asked Neville. "It's very unusual. It's certainly not an Ollivander creation."

"I presume she got it from a Canadian wandmaker," said Robert Hilliard loftily. Although his was one of the classes in which the use of wands was required, he had not paid any attention to his students' wands. "What's so special about it? It's just a wand, isn't it? How unusual can it be?"

"Yes, I have noticed," replied Filius, as Severus sneered at Robert's ignorance. "I asked her about it and she informed me that it was custom made. It is apparently made of two wand cores and two wand woods. Apparently her mother's is also a custom wand from that same wandmaker and is just as unusual."

Severus sat up with a bang. "She has a Curran wand?"

"What's so special about that?" asked Robert in confusion. "I thought Ollivander was supposed to be the best?"

"Ollivander is the best for ready made wands but Curran wands are custom made and they are works of art. Garrick Ollivander's wands are crude twigs in comparison to Boyce Curran's custom wands," Severus explained. "Did she tell you what her wand is, Filius?"

The diminutive man nodded. "Indeed she did, Severus. Beech and pear wood, with a Caladrius feather and Kitsune whisker core."

Like Neville had done earlier, Severus whistled. "With a wand like that, no wonder she has an affinity for potions. I'm just surprised that she's shown no interest in healing."

"Give her time," replied Filius wisely. "If I remember correctly, the theory aspect of the potions curriculum for the younger years covers ingredients — the different means of preparation and the interactions between them. An interest in healing may be stirred when her potions theory lessons start covering how the potions interact with the body. The Caladrius feather obviously shows an affinity for healing and, given her ability with potions, I would imagine she will be particularly talented at healing potions. I wonder what ability the Kitsune who supplied the whisker had. I don't remember hearing of any Kitsune with an ability for brewing potions, although I suppose it might have had healing abilities," he said dubiously.

"Or perhaps it might have had earth magicks," Pomona Sprout suggested. "Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures are both forms of earth magic and, given the main sources of potion ingredients, that makes potions an earth magic, too."

"That is possible," agreed Severus, nodding at Pomona.

The evening had been full of shocks and the staff disbanded soon after. The next morning, Severus received a letter from Nonie Gale. With one glance at the handwriting, he received another confirmation of her original identity. She thanked him for informing her of what had happened to Aimée and for his assurance that the perpetrator would be suitably punished. The letter also contained a rather scathing condemnation of the fact that inter-House prejudice was apparently still alive and flourishing, with no evidence of lessons having been learned since the war. Hermione had a rich vocabulary and a fine turn of phrase and he had appreciated her diatribe immensely, especially since he agreed with every word.

As his month of detentions continued, Reuben vowed to get his revenge against the girl who he blamed for the trouble he found himself in. His House was furious that he had lost them so many points and, not the most popular of students at the best of times, they took great pleasure in demonstrating that to him. The products from his Uncle George's joke shop played a prominent part in how his fellow Gryffindors expressed their displeasure and Reuben's ire increased exponentially.

Aimée had continued her extra-curricular brewing a couple of nights a week. On those evenings, Reuben's detentions were served with the school caretaker, Argus Filch. Reuben was not sure whose detentions were worse: Snape's or Filch's.

One evening during his third week of detention, Reuben noticed Aimée leaving Snape's classroom and wondered why she was there at that time of night. _'I could get her into trouble for being in the Potions classroom when she's not supposed to be,'_ he thought gleefully, slipping in after her to see what she had been doing. Seeing a cauldron labelled with her name standing in stasis, he grinned evilly. Rather than merely snitching on her, he decided instead to sabotage the potion.

_'If I tell on her, even to Uncle Harry or Filch, Snape will just stand up for her anyway,'_ he justified it to himself.

Some years previously, Harry had rather fatally introduced George Weasley not only to Muggle fizzy drinks but also to what happened if you put _Polo Mints_ or _Mentos_ into a bottle of _Coke_¹². George had roared with laughter and had promptly gone off and created magical sweets that would have a similar effect when placed in pumpkin juice or any other wizarding drink. They were an extremely popular item from _Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes_ and so many kids in Hogwarts had tubes of the innocuous looking sweets that it would be impossible to tell just who had placed one in Aimée Gale's cauldron.

Reuben did not have any of the sweets with him right now but he had plenty of them in his dorm. Later that night, when everyone in Gryffindor was asleep, he sneaked out of the portrait hole and carefully made his way down to the dungeons. One of the first things they had been taught in Potions was to apply and remove stasis spells, for use with potions which would take longer than one lesson to brew. Slipping quietly into the classroom, he drew out a tube of Candy Explosions from his pocket and removed one. As he was about to remove the stasis spell, he hesitated. _'I don't know what's in that cauldron. One might not be enough,'_ he thought and tipped out half a dozen of the candies. Removing the stasis spell, he dropped the candies in and quickly reapplied the spell. The Candy Explosions would not interact with the liquid in the cauldron until the stasis spell would be removed again.

Reuben managed to get back to the Gryffindor common room without being caught by a member of staff and congratulated himself on a job well done. What he did not realise was that Teddy Lupin had also been out after curfew for his own nefarious purposes and had followed the younger boy from the dungeons back to the common room.

_'What has he been doing now?'_ thought Teddy, resigning himself to the fact that Reuben had probably been up to no good and that when he was caught, as he inevitably would be given Reuben's lack of subtlety and forethought, it would not do Gryffindor any favours.

Two days later, Aimée returned to the dungeons to continue the potion she was working on. This was not a potion she had created but it was far more advanced than first years got to brew in class. She was thrilled that Professor Snape was so agreeable about mentoring her and her knowledge and skill in the subject were advancing by leaps and bounds. She bounced into the classroom, giving her surly professor a cheery greeting. She knew by now that marking papers always made him grumpy but he had a bit of a soft spot for the young girl and gave her exuberance the warm look and slight lip curl that passed for a smile with him, rather than the snarl that anyone else would have received, as she gathered together the ingredients and implements she would need for the next stage of the potion she was brewing.

"Be careful, Miss Gale," he called out in warning. "Make sure the arrowroot is completely dissolved in the potion before you add the next ingredient, or the potion will congeal rather than thicken and will therefore be wasted." Severus' eyes softened as he watched Aimée deftly preparing the ingredients she would be needing for this brewing session. Never before had he mentored a student as bright and precocious as Aimée Gale and he was charmed by the spirited little witch.

"Yes, sir," she replied, as she carefully continued preparing her ingredients, not allowing herself to be distracted. She cancelled the stasis charm and added in the arrowroot, stirring carefully as there seemed to be lumps that she had not expected. Of course, Aimée did not know that these lumps were the Candy Explosions and not clumps of arrowroot. George Weasley had designed the Candy Explosions to have a delayed effect and so Aimée was not yet aware that there was something very badly wrong with her potion.

As she stirred, Aimée noticed that the contents of the cauldron were beginning to bubble in a way that this potion should never do. "Professor, help!" she cried in a panic, backing away from the cauldron as she tried to reapply the stasis charm, not yet knowing how to banish the potion. Unfortunately, her hands were shaking so badly, that the charm failed. Severus sprang up at Aimée's call but before he could come to the rescue, the cauldron exploded. The explosion was worse than any other Severus had seen in all his years of teaching, blasting him off his feet and sending him crashing into the wall behind his desk.

"Miss Gale? Aimée?" Severus croaked, shaking his head blearily to try and clear the ringing from his ears. Pulling himself upright with an effort, he staggered over to his student's workbench. Taking in the extensive damage he carefully levitated the cauldron away from the flame before it could explode again. Aimée had also been blasted halfway across the room by the explosion. She was very still and white, with her leg bent at an unnatural angle. She was also covered in the hot, bubbling potion, which was burning her. He was dismayed to see that the burns were as much from the potion itself as from the heat of the liquid. Dropping to his knees beside her, he first checked her pulse, relieved to feel a faint beat. Banishing the potion from her skin, he ran a diagnostic charm and paled. Quickly conjuring his _Patronus_, he sent it off to Poppy Pomfrey. Two minutes later the fire in his office flared green and she stepped out of the floo.

"What happened, Severus?" the Mediwitch asked as she came into the classroom. Dropping to her knees beside Severus she began running diagnostics over the girl. "She's got second degree burns, slight internal bleeding, a badly broken leg and several cuts and contusions."

"Her cauldron exploded. Obviously!" he said. _'Can the woman not see that for herself?'_ he wondered absently, as he concentrated on helping Poppy stabilise the young girl.

"What was she brewing at this time of night?" Poppy demanded.

"It was an extra-curricular project, at her request. Poppy, I was right here in the room with her. I know what potion she was brewing. I was watching as she worked and she did nothing wrong. Even if she had made a mistake, it certainly shouldn't have caused an explosion of this magnitude, nor should it be causing what looks like chemical burns. At worst it should have caused her potion to congeal. Once you're able to move her to the hospital wing, I want to analyse the remnants of her potion and see if I can work out what caused it to explode, unless you still need my help. I'm not sure a generic burn paste will work in this instance. I think it will need to be more directly focused," Severus explained as the Mediwitch worked on the young girl.

"She's stable enough to be moved now and, no, I don't need your assistance yet. Go and get me a counter-agent to that potion before she ends up permanently scarred," the Mediwitch replied, putting Aimée into medical stasis and levitating her onto a conjured stretcher.

Poppy departed for the hospital wing and Severus looked round the room and sighed at the destruction that had been caused. Then he got to work. The cauldron was shattered into pieces, but the bowl of the cauldron had enough liquid remaining in it for analysis. Donning a pair of dragon-skin gloves, he carefully carried it down to his private lab so that he could deconstruct the potion. As he poured it into a clear glass beaker, he noticed some partially dissolved lumps in the potion.

_'What in Merlin's name are those? There shouldn't be anything like that in this potion,'_ he wondered. Grabbing a mini ladle, he scooped one out and placed it into a petri dish. Turning it over with a pair of tweezers, he made out the remnants of the WWW logo on the mushy surface of the item and cursed loudly. Striding over to a cabinet, he unlocked it and withdrew a folder. Even though nearly all the WWW products were banned, the staff was realistic enough to know that contraband would make its way into the school and Severus made sure always to have an up-to-date catalogue of their products available, just in case… although he had been thinking more of an allergic reaction, rather than sabotaged potions. And Severus was certain this was deliberately and maliciously done. Aimée would certainly not have done something like this herself. She took brewing potions far too seriously for that. Looking through the pictures, he identified the contaminant.

With a muttered _'Incendio,'_ he threw some floo powder into the fireplace. "George Weasley's home!" he shouted and stuck his head into the fireplace.

"Weasley! WEASLEY!" he yelled.

George's wife, Angelina, came bustling over to the fire. "Professor! Whatever is the matter? You'll wake the children."

"Find your husband and tell him I need the ingredients for the Candy Explosions urgently. He should floo them through to my private lab. This is an emergency, Madam Weasley."

Angelina nodded and Severus withdrew his head, pacing up and down his lab while he waited for the information from George. It would be almost impossible for him to identify the components of those candies now that they had been contaminated by their contact with the potion. Fortunately, as Severus was getting very anxious, it was only a couple of minutes before George arrived in person. Severus quickly explained what had happened and George confirmed that the sludge in the petri dish was indeed the remnants of one of his Candy Explosions.

"There's more than one candy in here," George observed, stirring the beaker. "The instructions clearly state not to use more than one candy at a time and only with cold liquids. It should certainly never be used while brewing a potion. Whoever did this could have killed her!"

George Weasley may have only achieved three OWLS and he may not have sat his NEWTs but he was almost as much a genius with potions as Severus — at least when it came to developing pranks and joke items, that is. The pair of them worked together to create a neutraliser for the corrupted potion. Thanking George for his assistance, Severus rushed up to the infirmary with the counter-agent, leaving George to floo back home.

.o.O.o.

¹¹ We don't actually know what House Poppy Pomfrey was in; I've decided that Hufflepuff suits her.

¹² If you don't know, search YouTube for Coke and mints.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 11**

"How is Miss Gale?" Severus asked anxiously, as he entered the infirmary.

"The internal bleeding was only very mild, so I've stopped that and and strengthened the seal on the internal wound so it won't reopen. I've also given her two vials of Blood Replenishing Potion and I've administered Skele-gro for that broken leg. She had a compound fracture, which was best healed by banishing the bones and regrowing them. The cuts and bruises are minor and will have to wait. I'm more worried about the burns right now. We need to treat them as quickly as possible, before it's too late to prevent them disfiguring her. I've used a generic burn paste in the meantime but I don't think it's going to be enough; the substance that burned her seems to be highly corrosive. Fortunately, I can keep her in a sterile bubble, which should prevent any infection setting in before the wounds heal."

"I found out why the potion exploded. It seems someone sabotaged it with some Weasley products. George came and helped me create a neutraliser," said Severus grimly, as he handed a salve to Poppy, who immediately removed the generic burn paste and gently slathered the neutraliser salve on Aimée in its place. The girl was burned all the way down the left side of her body.

"What are you going to do about it, Severus?" Poppy asked, glancing up at her colleague as she worked on Aimée.

"First I'm going to talk to Minerva and work out a plan of action to find out who was responsible. This was a deliberate act. Miss Gale had safety procedures drilled into her by her mother even before she came to Hogwarts and she would not have done this herself. She takes potion making far too seriously to sabotage any potion, least of all her own. Once I've reported this to Minerva, I'll need to inform her mother of what has happened."

"Sooner rather than later, Severus. Oh, don't worry; she's no longer in any danger, but she was hurt very badly and her mother should be informed. The child will probably want her mother here when she wakes up."

Severus nodded and headed down to the Headmistress' office where he waxed eloquent about what had happened and demanded that an investigation take place. "And not an Albus Dumbledore style investigation, where a dangerous stunt nearly kills a student and it just gets dismissed as a _harmless_ _prank_, with the perpetrator getting no more than a token slap on the wrist, otherwise I will call the Aurors myself!"

"Youthful high spirits, Severus," said Dumbledore's portrait patronisingly.

"No, Albus. That's what you _never_ understood. One or two pranks with no serious consequences are _youthful high spirits_. Unrelenting, unremitting, _humiliating_ and _hurtful_ pranks is _bullying_. Four students ganging up on one lone student and spending seven solid years attacking said student four-to-one is _bullying_. Deliberately sending a student into the lair of a werewolf on the night of the full moon before the Wolfsbane potion had been invented was _attempted murder_. Miss Gale has been the subject, not of pranks and teasing, but of _bullying_ ever since she first stepped foot into this school, all at the hands of a small-minded, bigoted oaf. Now she has been severely injured and if I had not been in that classroom with her when it happened, even if I had only stepped out for a few minutes, by the time I had found her, it would have been too late to save her; the internal bleeding would have _killed_ her."

"Now, now, Severus. I'm sure it was just a prank gone wrong. You must learn to become more forgiving."

Minerva snorted. "Albus, you've known Severus since he was eleven years old and you're still spouting that nonsense? Don't you know Severus better than that after all this time? Besides, he's quite right. Regardless of whether or not it was intentional, this is not something that can be overlooked or brushed under the carpet. Actions have consequences and it's time that all our students learned that. This is no longer Hogwarts under the administration and leadership of Albus Dumbledore. This is Hogwarts under the administration and leadership of Minerva McGonagall and _I will manage this school_ _as I see fit_. You no longer have a say in that. Severus, I will fill in the other Heads of House and we will start a proper investigation in the morning."

Minerva hesitated. "Are you absolutely certain Miss Gale didn't do this herself?"

"Minerva, when have you known me to mentor a first-year student before? Never, that's when! Aimée Gale has a talent for potions that is probably greater even than mine, and you know that I was something of a prodigy myself. She loves potions far too much and has had lab safety protocols too well drilled into her ever to pull a stunt like this."

The elderly witch nodded and Severus pointed out the direction in which his suspicions lay. "You might want to begin with Reuben Weasley. It was a WWW product and he's been aggressive towards her since day one," he suggested.

"I'll tell Harry," she sighed.

"Good. And make sure Potter knows not to accept Weasley's word just because the boy is his nephew. He should question him properly because if he doesn't, I'll dose the little brat with Veritaserum myself!" Severus demanded, to the obvious displeasure of Dumbledore's portrait. Ignoring the old codger, Severus continued, "Do you by any chance know Madam Gale's address? I know she is not connected to the floo and I would like to apparate over and tell her about this in person. It's not news she should receive in a letter."

"Didn't she write to you? Surely the letter had her address on it?" asked Minerva in surprise.

"No, it didn't. She sent her letter back with the school owl that delivered it. Remember, post owls don't need addresses." He sighed. "I don't want to panic her by sending a Patronus but that would seem to be the best option, since Poppy has asked me to summon her."

"Ask Miss Gale's friends if they know where she lives. If you have to send a Patronus, tell Madam Gale she can either come to the gates and we'll let her in or else she can apparate to the Leaky Cauldron and floo into my office," Minerva instructed.

Severus nodded and headed for the Slytherin common room. Catching the eye of one of the female prefects, he demanded, "Please bring Higgs, Pucey and Sykes down to the common room."

The prefect looked surprised but nodded and disappeared in the direction of the first year girls' dorm. A few minutes later, the three girls appeared. "Professor? Is something wrong? Where's Aimée?" asked Zephyr in concern.

Severus sighed. "There has been an accident and Miss Gale is in the hospital wing. Hopefully, you will be able to visit her after classes tomorrow. I doubt Madam Pomfrey will allow you to see Miss Gale before then."

"What happened?" asked Hyacinth fearfully.

"Reuben Weasley," said Anthea in a tone of conviction.

"We do not know that yet," said Severus warningly.

"Yet?" asked the girl perceptively and Severus smothered a smile at how very Slytherin she was.

"Yet, Miss Pucey. There will be a full investigation tomorrow. You will not take any punitive action before we know the results of said investigation. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," the girls chorused and Severus swung round to address the common room at large.

"It does indeed look like Miss Gale's accident was no accident but I do not want warfare breaking out between Slytherin and the other Houses. You will refrain yourselves from exacting revenge. At present, the perpetrator is the one in the wrong and I do not want that to change. Is that clearly understood?"

His Slytherins understood. Currently, their Head of House would be negotiating a suitable punishment from a position of strength. If they were to interfere, they would weaken his position and thus the punishment that would be enacted. Not only that, but they would also cause him to lose face and that was something none of them would dare do.

Satisfied that his message had been received, he returned his attention to the first year girls. "Miss Gale will probably be in the infirmary for a few days but she will be fine. In the meantime, I need to contact her mother urgently and we only seem to have her address in Canada on record, even though I know Madam Gale is currently living in England. Do any of you happen to know where she lives?" Even a town would be sufficient for him to find her, as he suspected Hermione was Muggle enough to have a telephone and so all he would need to do would be to look up her address in a telephone directory. Unfortunately, the girls all shook their heads.

"All right, I'm going to check her belongings. Please show me which is Miss Gale's bed."

Severus followed the worried girls up to their dorm and Hyacinth pointed out Aimée's bed and trunk. Quickly realising that he could not open Aimée's trunk, he tried summoning any letters that had been written to her. Unfortunately, none of them gave her mother's address and, checking a textbook that lay on her bed, he saw that no addresses appeared on the flyleaf either. Giving it up as a bad job, he departed the common room, sending off a Patronus to Hermione. Passing his classroom, the Potions Professor paused briefly to survey the damage. He did not want to clear it up yet, as he wanted Minerva and the other Heads of House to see just what the 'prank' had wrought. Mentally planning how to take his potions classes without brewing facilities over the next few days, Severus returned to the infirmary, as he wanted to stay with Aimée until her mother arrived. Even though Poppy was with the child, as her Head of House, he was in _loco parentis_ and would not leave her alone in the infirmary under the circumstances.

Hermione started as a raven Patronus came flying into her living room, while she lounged on the sofa with a book. "Madam Gale, please do not be alarmed but we had no other way of contacting you urgently. Your daughter has had an accident. She is being taken care of by Madam Pomfrey and will be fine but we thought you would like to be with her. You can either floo to the Headmistress' office from the Leaky Cauldron or you can apparate to the gates. Please just let us know if you choose the latter, so that we can send someone to open the gates for you," it said in Severus Snape's voice. Severus hoped that Minerva would send anyone other than Harry Potter to the gate if Hermione came that way.

In a panic, Hermione summoned her coat and transfigured it into a cloak with a hood. Pulling the hood up over her head, she apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and quickly made her way over to the fireplace. Stepping out of the floo in Minerva's office, she lowered her hood. Minerva, who was addressing Filius, Pomona and Harry looked up.

"Herm… Madam Gale," she said, coming over to hug the distraught woman. "It's good to see you again, even under the circumstances."

"Hermione!" Harry cried, rushing over to her. A hurt look crossed his face as she stepped back from him.

"Headmistress, what happened to my daughter?" she demanded, ignoring her former best friend.

"I don't know all the details but I'm sure she'll be fine. If she was critical, Madam Pomfrey would have transferred her to St Mungo's by now," she said reassuringly. "Pomona, would you mind escorting Madam Gale to the infirmary, please?" Minerva knew that Hermione would not be able to cope with Harry at the moment and that the motherly Head of Hufflepuff would be a far more tolerable presence.

"But…" Harry protested, subsiding when Minerva gave him a warning glare.

"Don't worry, my dear," said Pomona reassuringly as they hurried along the corridors. "Poppy is very good at her job, as you well know. Think how often she had to patch up Mr Potter after his escapades."

Hermione nodded absently, not really paying attention to what the kindly woman was saying. "Aimée!" she cried as she entered the infirmary, her face ashen as she saw her daughter lying still and pale, with raw looking wounds down one side of her body.

"Hermione! I mean, Madam Gale," said Poppy in greeting. "There was a potions accident — Severus can tell you more about that. As for her injuries…" the Mediwitch quickly ran down the list of injuries and Aimée's current status. Remembering that Hermione had begun Healer training before her departure from Britain, Poppy ran a diagnostic charm, displaying the results for Hermione to see.

With the assurance that Aimée was not in critical danger, Hermione began to breathe again, not even noticing when Pomona left. Hermione could see the sterile bubble surrounding Aimée and knew that she could not even hold her daughter's hand but she sat down next to her bed nonetheless, prepared to stay there until Aimée should awaken. Severus raised an eyebrow at Poppy and she sighed and nodded. Summoning a vial of Calming Draught, the Mediwitch handed it to Severus with a meaningful look. He conjured another chair and sat beside Hermione, wordlessly handing the little bottle to her. She ignored it, rocking back and forth in distress.

"Drink it, Madam Gale. All of it. If you don't take it willingly, you know I'll pour it down your throat anyway," he said, every inch the imposing Professor Snape from her childhood.

Hermione blindly took the vial and drank it. "What happened?" she asked tonelessly, not taking her eyes off her daughter.

"Aimée has been doing some extra-curricular brewing under my supervision a couple of nights a week," Severus explained. Hermione nodded impatiently, already being aware of this from Aimée's letters, and Severus continued. "The latest potion she was working on could not be brewed in one, single session. It was under stasis but when she continued it tonight, it exploded. Something it should not have done. I don't think that even Neville Longbottom in his youth could have caused this particular potion to explode, and he was one of the worst Potions students I ever taught. I discovered that someone had placed some Weasley products into Miss Gale's cauldron, which I am absolutely certain Miss Gale did not do herself. We are investigating and I assure you that there will be accountability," he declared ominously.

Hermione raised her eyes to Severus' and, seeing the sincerity and resolve in the black depths, she nodded once and turned her attention back to her daughter. Seeing that this was not the time to talk to Hermione, Severus sighed and sat back in his chair, silently keeping her company and waiting until she would be ready for conversation.

Time passed and Aimée began stirring restlessly. Severus quietly went to get Poppy, who came to check on her patient. Cancelling the sterile bubble, the Mediwitch reapplied the salve that Severus had prepared to treat the burns. Aimée, closer to consciousness this time than last, began to groan from the pain.

"Ssh, ssh, beloved Aimée. It's all right, I'm here," Hermione whispered in the girl's ear and she calmed down. Aimée was still obviously in pain but stopped thrashing around at the sound of her mother's voice. Hermione stroked Aimée's hair, keeping her calm as Poppy reapplied the salve and spelled another pain relief potion into Aimée's stomach.

"The burns are already much improved," Poppy commented. "I'm going to erect the sterile bubble again and make Aimée sleep until the salve needs to be reapplied. Hopefully by then I'll be able to take the bubble down."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione whispered.

"Miss Gale should be much improved by morning," Severus assured Hermione, who gave him a wan smile before turning her attention back to her daughter. Despite the Calming Draught, Hermione was still greatly distressed and was clearly ready to attack anyone who entered the infirmary, so when Poppy came back a few hours later to reapply the salve, which had to be renewed every three to four hours, he had a quiet word with the Mediwitch and she gently spelled Hermione to sleep, levitating her onto the next bed to her daughter. Severus had a house elf bring him his marking from his office and settled down to a long night of keeping watch. Poppy could not erect wards preventing people entering the infirmary in case there was a need for medical attention and Severus wanted to be sure that no one would approach either of the Gale women during the night. He did not expect that Reuben Weasley would risk trying to harm Aimée further while she was under Madam Pomfrey's care, but he had no such confidence that Harry Potter would refrain from approaching Hermione.

Sure enough, late that night, Harry came tiptoeing into the infirmary under his invisibility cloak. Always aware of his surroundings, the former spy felt the subtle shift in the air and the faint tingle of the infirmary's wards as Harry passed through them. "What are you doing here, Potter?" he asked, without looking up from his marking.

Harry took the cloak off. "How do you always know when I'm under the cloak?" he asked ruefully and Severus smirked in response. In truth, it was simply because as a former Headmaster of Hogwarts he was attuned to the wards. Severus could not only feel the shift when someone passed through them but he could also feel the tingle of a person's magical core. Of course, this applied only within Hogwarts, where the castle itself cooperated with the Headmaster. Hogwarts castle was semi-sentient and it had to approve of a Headmaster or Headmistress for them to be able to take over the post. When Harry and Hermione had been in school, the Headmaster's office had sealed itself against a Ministry appointed stooge, Dolores Umbridge, making it clear that Hogwarts did not accept her as Headmistress.

After the unavoidable nightmare that had been Severus' Headship under the rule of Voldemort, he had been happy to step down in favour of Minerva McGonagall but, with Hogwarts itself still acknowledging him as Headmaster to some extent, he had been appointed Deputy Head, thus satisfying the castle. However, only Severus and Minerva knew that Hogwarts still afforded Severus some of the privileges of Headmaster. Severus had insisted that it be kept quiet because he did not wish to detract from her position as Headmistress and in so doing, diminish the respect and authority she held.

"How is she?" Harry asked quietly, nodding towards Hermione and Aimée, asleep on neighbouring beds.

"Which one?" Severus asked dryly and Harry blushed. "Miss Gale's internal injuries have been healed. The Skele-gro should have mended her broken leg by morning. Hopefully, her burns will also be healed by morning, with no scarring. If she does become disfigured from this so-called prank, you may be very certain that her mother will raise Hell. Understandably and rightly so. As for Madam Gale, she has been administered a Calming Draught and is under a Healer's sleeping spell. I have no doubt she will be furious with us for that but it was necessary.

Harry's face fell in disappointment and Severus sighed. "Potter… Harry, I know you want to talk to her and apologise for what happened when she left but this isn't the time. Right now, Madam Gale far more concerned about her daughter than she will be about helping you feel better about yourself. If you want her to forgive you, then you will have to earn that forgiveness, and you can start by finding the miscreant who was responsible for this."

Harry nodded mutely and conjured himself a chair next to Severus. "Minerva says you suspect Reuben," he commented as he sat down.

"He has certainly targeted for Miss Gale for no justifiable reason ever since they met," Severus observed neutrally.

"Yes, but while I do believe that Reuben would be capable of deliberately sabotaging someone's potion, based on his performance in Defence and on the reports from Robert and Filius of his performance in Transfiguration and Charms, I'm not sure I believe him to be magically capable of cancelling and reapplying a stasis charm," Harry said derisively and Severus' lips twitched in acknowledgement. Like his father before him, Reuben Weasley was not the most proficient student of magic in the school.

"I suppose we should be grateful Ginevra is female. If she had been another boy, she would probably be an even bigger imbecile than Ronald, since all the intelligence and magical capability intended for boys in that family had obviously been used up by Ronald's older brothers," Severus quipped, sharing an amused glance with Harry.

The two men sat in silence for some time before Harry finally took his leave, remarking that Ginny would be furious if he spent the entire night in the hospital wing. "And I really don't need both her and Hermione to be angry with me at the same time; they're two scary witches," he said wryly as he left.

Severus spent the rest of the night guarding the two women. It was not that he felt it was truly necessary but he could not bring himself to leave his self-appointed post. For some reason, he felt compelled to protect the two witches. _'Besides, Madam Gale may be slightly more forgiving over having been put under a sleeping spell if she knows I did not leave her or her daughter unprotected in the hospital wing,'_ he thought drolly. Harry was right: Hermione Granger was indeed a scary witch.

Poppy had set the sleeping spell to wear off at seven o'clock in the morning. She came to check on Aimée just as Hermione began to stir. "Good morning, Miss Gra… Madam Gale," she said, smiling at her former student as she opened sleepy eyes.

"What… Aimée!" she cried, jolting fully awake as she remembered where she was and why.

"It's all right, Madam Gale. She's fine. Her leg has mended and her burns have been fully cured, thanks to Severus and George Weasley. I'm just healing the minor injuries — a few assorted scrapes, bumps and bruises."

"You put me to sleep," said Hermione accusingly.

"I'm sorry, Madam Gale, but it was necessary," replied Poppy firmly. "You were in a state of high alert, combined with distress, and I could not risk you hexing anyone who came seeking medical assistance. Now, please calm down or I will ban you from the hospital wing."

Hermione blushed with embarrassment. She was behaving like Molly Weasley. She had always thought that she was more rational than the over-bearing, over-protective matriarch of the Weasley clan. "I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey," she said abashedly and the older woman laughed.

"Oh my dear, it's quite like old times. I'm half expecting to see those two miscreants, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, come rushing in to check that you're all right," she said with a smile and Hermione gave a sad, half-hearted smile in response.

"One of them has already been in," Severus drawled. "You were asleep at the time," he explained to Hermione.

"Were you here all night, Professor?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, as I'm the one who suggested that Poppy cast the sleeping spell on you, I thought it prudent to remain here. I knew you wouldn't be happy about your daughter being unprotected, and since anyone can enter the hospital wing…"

"Thank you," said Hermione, wide-eyed. "You must be exhausted, though."

Severus laughed, a rich, deep sound that made Hermione shiver with pleasure. "It's not the first time I've had to stay up all night and it won't be the last, although, thankfully, these days it's due to brewing potions rather than pandering to two lords and masters."

Poppy finished checking on Aimée and turned to Hermione. "Why don't you go and freshen up in the bathroom and by the time you come back, your daughter should be awake."

Hermione screwed up her face in distaste. "I didn't bring a change of clothes with me."

"Are you a witch or what? That's what _Scourgify_ is for!" Severus exclaimed, an amused glint in his eyes.

"I guess it's the Muggle in me. It's just not the same as putting on fresh clothes. Or perhaps it's from spending the better part of a year in a tent. _Scourgify_ loses its effectiveness after a while. I felt grubby the entire time," Hermione explained.

"Well, you could always go home and change," suggested Severus.

"No, it's all right. Just ignore my moaning," she laughed. "I'll survive."

When Hermione returned from the bathroom, Aimée was sitting up talking to her Head of House. As Hermione approached, she could hear that their conversation was about the special burn salve Severus had created to treat Aimée's wounds. Severus looked up as she approached. "Merlin, but she's like you," he said to Hermione.

Hermione grinned in acknowledgement. "I know. She's a complete mini-me."

"Little Know-It-All," he agreed, glancing at Aimée out of the corner of his eyes.

Aimée looked flabbergasted. "I thought you didn't remember my Mum," she said accusingly.

Hermione sighed. "Aimée, when I left Britain after the war… I'd been through so much, had such a hard time… well, we all did but I was in a lot of emotional pain when I left. I was depressed, angry, hurt and so much more. I couldn't handle it. I needed a completely new start. I never told you this because it was too difficult to look back on and explain the reasons why, but I changed my name magically. Professor Snape certainly knows me — most of the professors do, I imagine — but they know me under a different name."

Aimée was very quiet as she processed what her mother had said. "Why didn't you tell me when I came to Hogwarts?" she asked in a small voice.

Hermione sat on Aimée's bed with her and took her into her arms. "I was quite well-known. There would have been a lot of expectations laid upon you. You would have received quite a bit of unpleasant attention and you would have been asked many questions that you couldn't answer. I thought that even if everyone suspected you were my daughter, it would be easier for you to be your own person if they didn't know for sure. I know you must be upset with me, beloved Aimée, but know that I love you very much — even if I did mess up. I guess I just didn't know how to handle it properly. I'm sorry."

Aimée cuddled into Hermione. They sat there quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the contact, before Aimée broke the silence. "Mum? What was your name before?" she asked curiously.

"Hermione Granger," she replied. Aimée was stunned. Even she had heard of the famous Muggleborn witch. She was having a hard time believing that Hermione Granger was her mother.

Hermione carded her hand through Aimée's curly locks. "Are we okay, baby?"

Aimée looked up at her mother. "I'm not sure. I'm a bit confused but I think so."

Hermione nodded. "Perhaps before I leave, we can sit down and talk somewhere private. I'll answer whatever questions I can. All right?"

Aimée smiled at Hermione. "All right," she agreed happily.

Severus cleared his throat. "Talking of leaving," he said. "Before you go, Madam Gale, we should stop by the Headmistress' office for an update regarding the investigation into who sabotaged your daughter's potion."

"Isn't it a bit early yet?" asked Hermione, looking at her watch.

"Indeed it is but since it's Saturday today, I assumed you would want to stay and spend the day with Miss Gale, once she has been released from the infirmary. You would be welcome to use my chambers, to have your talk with your daughter. Later on, before you leave, I'll escort you to the Headmistress' office."

Hermione looked horrified. "Oh no, Professor. That's very generous of you but I couldn't take advantage of you like that, especially as you must want to get some sleep. I truly appreciate the offer but I would hate to disturb you. Perhaps we could use the Room of Requirement for now and join you for tea later in the day, after you've rested? I'd like to catch up with you and hear about how Aimée is doing at school."

"Madam Gale, I thought you knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't offer if it were an imposition or _merely to be polite_." This last was said with some disdain and Hermione giggled in appreciation. This was much more like the snarky professor she knew!

"Besides," he continued. "Potter will probably be roaming the halls looking for you. You would be much safer in my chambers. Even that infamous map of his won't find you there."

"Just what is Harry doing here at Hogwarts?" she asked curiously. Harry was an Auror, so why was he wandering the halls of Hogwarts instead of doing his job?

"He's the Defence Professor, Mum," Aimée explained, to Hermione's great surprise.

Seeing Hermione's shock, Severus explained. "He dropped out of the Auror training programme after you left. He didn't trust his judgement after he misread the situation with… his two best friends, so badly," said Severus awkwardly, knowing better than to mention Ronald Weasley in front of Aimée. Hermione, who had been looking at him in alarm, breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes narrowed in realisation. She raised her eyebrows, silently asking if he had worked out who Aimée's father was and he gave her a brief nod in reply.

"In that case, Professor, I'll gladly take you up on your kind offer," she said.

Poppy came bustling up. "Right, Miss Gale. I had a house elf bring you some clean clothes, so you can shower and get dressed. I want you to take it easy and rest today, so I'll allow you to leave to go to Professor Snape's chambers with your mother but I want to see you again before you return to your common room.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 12**

While Aimée showered and dressed, Severus flooed Minerva to find out what was happening regarding the investigation into Aimée's accident. Pulling his head back out of the fireplace, he informed Hermione, "The Heads of House are to question their Houses after breakfast. I doubt it will be anyone from Slytherin — we take care of our own — but I will question them nonetheless."

Hermione's eyes opened wide. "Slytherin would not have been so accepting of Aimée in my day."

"Probably not," agreed Severus. "But the Sorting Hat would not have put Aimée in Slytherin in your day, for precisely that reason. The purpose of the Hat is to place students in the House best suited to them and even if a student's personality were best suited to Slytherin, placing them in danger would mean that the House was not best suited to them. Otherwise, I rather think you might have ended up in Slytherin yourself."

Hermione blushed. "Actually, the Hat said I would do well in any of the Houses. It wanted to put me in Ravenclaw but I preferred Gryffindor." Hermione ignored the snort from Severus. "It was the best place for me at the time," she continued. "It may have painted a target on my back as Harry Potter's Muggleborn best friend, but I wouldn't have survived the Muggleborn Registration if I had been in Ravenclaw. I wouldn't have become a fighter if I were in Ravenclaw. Unless I had seen the signs and had managed to escape Britain before the Ministry fell — which is unlikely, as without being Harry and Ron's best friend, I wouldn't have had connections to the Order and I therefore wouldn't have known what was really happening — I would have just meekly complied because I would have had no other option."

Severus nodded his head thoughtfully. "That's probably true," he admitted. "Minerva tried to warn all the Muggleborns but after Dumbledore's death, she wasn't able to access the school records to get the list of Muggleborns, nor was she able to use the school owls to send out letters, and the Order simply didn't have the resources. Many did take Dumbledore's death as a warning sign and chose to leave, but not enough."

At that point Aimée returned and Severus gave her a small smile of approval. "We'll floo to my chambers and you can eat breakfast there. I must attend breakfast in the Great Hall and then talk to my House. Miss Gale, you are to remain in my chambers until I give you leave to return to the common room."

Aimée nodded, wide-eyed, and followed her Head of House to the floo. Once in his chambers, Severus called for a house elf and requested breakfast for two. As the two women ate, Hermione began to lose the air of worry she had carried since her arrival at Hogwarts the previous evening. When he returned to his chambers shortly after breakfast, Severus was glad to see the fire back her eyes. This distraught woman she had been earlier was not the Hermione Granger he knew.

"It is as we expected," he announced. "Mr Reuben Weasley is indeed the culprit. Mr Lupin has reported that Mr Weasley was out after curfew a couple of nights ago and, when challenged, Mr Weasley admitted his misdeeds. He seems quite proud of what he has wrought. His parents have been summoned for a meeting, which you will also need to attend."

Hermione frowned. "Who are his parents?" she asked in dread.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ronald and the former Romilda Vane," he replied.

"Crap," she muttered but not quietly enough.

"Indeed," Severus agreed.

"Do you know his parents, Mum?" Aimée asked in surprise.

Hermione sighed. "I'm afraid so. I know all the Weasleys. Ronald and I were in the same year. He always had something of a temper and, when I knew him, he hadn't yet learned to control it. He tended to react first and think later — much later! As for his wife, when I knew her, she was an empty-headed twit whose main goal in life was to marry someone rich and famous. Her sights were on Harry Potter in those days. Professor Snape, does Aimée have to be at the meeting? Madam Pomfrey was adamant that she relax today and this is likely to be anything but relaxing."

"I'm afraid so," he agreed. "On both counts. Not only is the meeting liable to become heated but Miss Gale will need to be present. However, if you think it necessary during the course of the meeting, you may send your daughter back to the infirmary.

Hermione nodded unhappily. She really did not want Aimée to be present during any confrontation with Ronald Weasley but bowed to the inevitable. Deciding that she would prefer not to make a grand entrance after the Weasleys had arrived, they made their way to the Headmistress' office to wait there for the arrival of Ronald and Romilda. On walking into the room, Hermione's heart sank at the sight of Harry Potter sitting there. He sprang up as she walked in.

"Harry, I can't deal with you right now. You'll have to wait," she said.

"I should have explained," said Severus apologetically. "You remember that Mr Potter is the Defence Professor? Well, he's also Head of Gryffindor. He needs to be here in his official capacity as Mr Weasley's Head of House, I'm afraid."

Hermione closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to centre herself. Opening her eyes again, she looked at Harry. "All right, but please keep it professional, Professor Potter. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the harassment and assault my daughter has experienced at the hands of Reuben Weasley and the actions that will be taken against him. Nothing else."

"Now, now, Miss Granger. Young Mr Weasley is the son of your best friend. You must forgive him so that he can show remorse," Albus Dumbledore's portrait interrupted.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to face the portrait. "First of all, Professor Dumbledore, my name is not Granger; it's Gale. Secondly, Ronald Weasley is not my best friend. He's not any sort of friend. I'm not sure he ever was. Thirdly, we don't forgive to enable others to repent. They repent to enable us to forgive them. Without being held responsible for our actions, we will never show remorse, as we will never understand the need for it. Without remorse, how can we forgive? My daughter could have died last night. Would you tell me to forgive and forget if Reuben Weasley had actually killed her? Is she somehow less important than he is? Doesn't her life matter? Is she of as little consequence as Professor Snape was when Sirius Black tried to murder him, deliberately and with malice aforethought? Sirius never acknowledged that what he had done was wrong because by not punishing him, _you_ sanctioned it," the irate witch angrily harangued the aggravating and meddlesome portrait.

"She's right, you know, sir," agreed Harry. "Sirius always felt that the fact that his victim was Professor Snape was sufficient justification for attempted murder. I know you were limited in what you could do because Remus would have been blamed, even though it wasn't his fault, but you could still have held Sirius responsible. You could have used some other reason to punish him officially but made it clear to him, unofficially, the real reason for the punishment."

Dismissing Albus Dumbledore from her attention, Hermione turned to Minerva. "Headmistress, is it possible to banish Professor Dumbledore from his portrait for the duration of this meeting? He won't be able to refrain from meddling in what is no longer his concern and he will only prevent anything from being achieved."

"Now, Miss Granger," Dumbledore's portrait began to object in high dudgeon, only to be interrupted by the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, who was always happy to see Albus Dumbledore put in his place.

"I believe the chit has already informed you that her name is no longer Granger, Albus. Do try to keep up or Madam Gale might regard you as being even more offensive than I am!" he sneered.

Hermione smothered a grin and greeted the painting. "It's good to see you again, Headmaster Black. And you were never offensive, just snarky," she informed him, pointedly ignoring the portrait of Dumbledore, which was trying to get her attention. She had formed quite a friendship with the portrait of Phineas Nigellus in the past, albeit one of traded insults, but they both enjoyed the banter and each gave as good as they got.

Severus stood in a corner, smirking. He was rather enjoying the pint-sized witch's contemptuous dismissal of one of his greatest bugbears, Albus Dumbledore. He traded a look of amusement with Harry and spoke up. "I agree, Minerva. This meeting will be fraught enough as it is without Albus making things worse."

The elderly witch agreed. "They're quite right, Albus. Mr Ronald Weasley is volatile enough, without your influence. I suggest you visit your other portrait at the Ministry. Go and annoy the Minister for a while, otherwise I will silence you for the duration of this meeting."

The portrait of the elderly wizard was quite affronted. He had never been treated like this before. Rather than suffer the indignity of being silenced, he disappeared from his portrait. "I'll ask Kingsley to lock him into his Ministry portrait until further notice," Minerva sighed.

"Kingsley won't thank you for that," Harry said with a grin. "He has very little patience for Albus' interference."

"Which is why Albus' portrait is now in the Ministry atrium instead of the Minister's office," said Severus smugly. "He can pontificate as much as he likes to anyone who cares to stop and chat with him, but he can't annoy the Minister anymore."

Minerva withdrew her head from the floo. "Kingsley is going to lock him in place for the next four hours. It's far longer than we'll need, I'm sure, but there's no harm in having a little safety margin."

"Nor in having a break from the old coot," drawled Severus, to Harry and Hermione's amusement. Aimée was sitting quietly in a chair, quite bemused by this sight of her professors off-duty, as it were. She was avidly watching her mother interact with them, seeing how she seamlessly fitted in, despite the years in Canada and Hermione's apparent reluctance to be around Harry. She knew that Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had once been best friends and she was curious to know why her mother seemed to be estranged from them. However, she could also see the tension in her mother and realised that this was not the time to ask this question. Instead, she listened to the conversation.

"I don't suppose there's the slightest chance that Ronald won't recognise me, is there?" Hermione asked ruefully.

Harry snorted. "Sorry, Hermione. Err…"

"I changed my name magically, Harry. It really isn't Hermione Granger anymore," she said gently.

"I'll try to remember," he replied abashedly, as the fireplace flared green and Ronald and Romilda Weasley appeared.

"What happened to my baby?" screeched Romilda in a manner reminiscent of her mother-in-law. "Is he in the hospital wing? Come, Ronnie. Let's go and see him. I want whoever is responsible to be punished!"

"Funny you should mention that…" drawled Severus.

"Severus!" snapped Minerva. "Not now. Harry, where is Mr Reuben Weasley?"

"He's being watched over by Ginny until his parents arrive," Harry sighed, firing off a Patronus. "She'll bring him up now."

A few minutes later, Ginny Potter ushered her nephew into the Headmistress' office and departed again with a quick smile at Hermione, who smiled tentatively back.

"So what has this girl done to our Reuben and how is she going to be punished?" demanded Romilda, pointing at Aimée.

Hermione harrumphed indignantly and Harry just looked embarrassed by his sister-in-law. It was left to Severus to correct Romilda Weasley. "Do you always make assumptions and accusations without verifying the facts, Mrs Weasley? You should be careful, that could you see you heavily fined or even in Azkaban. We have libel and slander laws in the wizarding world now," he said in a silky voice that his former pupils all recognised as his most dangerous.

"My Reuben wouldn't have done anything wrong!" she retorted and Severus snorted incredulously at her attitude.

"Mrs Weasley!" Minerva snapped. "Not only has your son confessed but we have witnesses. He has been attacking Miss Gale ever since school started, and for no reason. All the other Gryffindors — including Mr Lupin and Miss Weasley — agree that your son is in the wrong. This is the second time he has caused physical harm to Miss Gale and if it were not for the quick reactions of Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey and Mr George Weasley, then Miss Gale would be permanently disfigured at the least, and more likely dead. Your son would be in Azkaban on murder charges. The only reason I have not yet called the Aurors is that while he undoubtedly intended to cause trouble for, and possibly even harm to, Miss Gale, he never actually intended to kill her. However, if we do not come to an acceptable agreement about his punishment, I will involve the DMLE without hesitation."

"You can't do that. I'm a war hero. You should be thanking me, not threatening my son," said Ronald, finally waking up to what was going on around him. Privately, Severus wondered if Ronald was on drugs, so out of it did he seem. Either that or he really was the imbecile Severus had always suspected.

"Most of our generation are war heroes, Ronald," said Hermione icily. "That doesn't make you special or unique. Professors Snape and McGonagall are also war heroes, as are all of your family. The main thing you did to fight the war was run away, or have you forgotten that you deserted Harry and myself just because you were hungry?"

Ronald went red. "Granger!" he spat. "What are you doing here? How dare you show your face in Hogwarts and bad-mouth my son! You're just a Mudblood whore and you have no place here."

There was silence as the adults in the room processed what Ronald Weasley had just said. Harry looked ready to beat the living daylights out of his former friend but Severus had hold of him, preventing him from doing so. Ronald continued on, oblivious to the fact that he was infuriating the two most dangerous men in wizarding Britain.

"That your daughter? Looks like you. Just another ugly, know-it-all, bushy-haired bookworm, I'll bet. And I see you're here on your own. Where's her father? Is that why you've been hiding all these years? Too ashamed of your bastard daughter to mix with good people?" he said spitefully.

Aimée had tears running silently down her cheeks. Hermione was torn between comforting her daughter and making Ronald regret he was ever born. Ron's attack on Aimée was the final straw, however.

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter like that, Ronald Weasley," she snarled. "I will _not_ allow it!"

"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it, you ugly cow?"

Severus was taken aback at the sheer _fury_ on her face but Ronald did not seem to realise just how dangerous Hermione was at that moment. As always, whenever someone stood up to him or said something he did not like, he immediately pulled out his wand, aiming it not at Hermione but at Aimée.

"You take back what you said about my son. He's not getting into trouble because of some Mudblood whore's bastard!" he ordered the girl, who was cowering behind her mother.

Even as Severus moved to protect the young girl and Minerva ordered Ron to put his wand away, Hermione acted decisively, without any of Ronald's grandstanding or bluster.

"Stupefy!" she cried, aiming at Ronald. Her anger and upset transferred into her wand, which was so well designed for defence and duelling, and the creation of which had undoubtedly been influenced by her feelings of anger and disgust towards Ronald Weasley. Her emotions clearly fuelled the spell, since he went flying across the room and crashed into the far wall. Romilda began to shriek and Hermione quickly silenced her. "Incarcerous!" she cried. She magically bound Romilda and then stuck her to a chair, as an additional precaution. She collected Ron's and Romilda's wands before they had a chance even to react and handed them to Severus for safekeeping. That done, she Rennervated Ronald and gave him the same treatment she had given Romilda. All this took mere seconds, so powered was she by her desire to protect Aimée.

"That's enough, Hermione! Put your wand away, it's not helping!" snapped Harry and Hermione rounded on him, her ire flashing in her eyes.

"Oh, of course it's enough, Harry. After all, it's _Ronald_." The sarcasm in her voice could have cut glass. "He can do whatever he likes and Merlin forbid you would remonstrate with him. He turned against you when Crouch Junior entered you into the Tri-wizard Tournament but you forgave him without so much as an apology on his part. He abandoned us during the Horcrux hunt and, again, you forgave him as though nothing had happened. He treated me like dirt and you blamed me, merely on his say-so, without even asking for my side of the story. _He beat me up_ and you told _me_ to apologise to _him!_ And now, he points his wand at my daughter and you do nothing until I defend her. And what do you do then? Do you tell Ronald not to point his wand at a _child?_ No, you tell me not to defend my daughter. Why am I not surprised? Why in Merlin's name would I expect otherwise from you, Harry?"

Harry blushed but there was nothing he could say in his own defence and he knew it. Ron Weasley had been Harry's first friend and his family had welcomed him as one of their own. Harry had always had a stronger bond with Ron than with Hermione and he constantly favoured Ron, despite the fact that Hermione had always been a far more loyal friend to him than Ron had been. However, Harry had been too scared of losing his best male friend and his honorary family and had never taken Hermione's side, even when he knew Ronald was in the wrong. It had become so much of a habit for Harry to defend Ronald to Hermione, even after all these years, that he had spoken automatically, without even considering what he was saying.

Hermione's hair was crackling with sheer power and her fury was such that she was completely unaware that her wand, reacting to her emotions, was issuing angry and volatile sparks, all aimed in the direction of Ronald Weasley. The castle wards were shuddering with the effort of controlling the rage emanating from Hermione and her wand. Severus eyed the irate witch warily. If she did not calm down soon, she was likely to bring the walls and ceiling down on them all. At the very least, she may end up unintentionally killing the Weasley fool. Despite his many years of experience with immensely powerful witches and wizards, Severus had never seen anything like the raw power emanating from Hermione Granger at this moment; nor had he ever seen a wand react to its master's emotions to the extent that Hermione's wand was currently doing.

"Madam Gale!" he snapped. "While I heartily agree with you lambasting Potter and Weasley, a bout of accidental magic in such close quarters could be very dangerous."

Fortunately, Severus' words penetrated the red haze of Hermione's rage. Taking several deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down.

Hermione turned to the Headmistress. "I will not sit here and listen to that foul-mouthed lout abuse my daughter. Nor will I permit him to pull his wand on her," she informed Minerva in steely tones. "I can see now why Reuben has no concept of proper behaviour, as his parents have no self-discipline or understanding of right and wrong themselves. I expect Reuben Weasley to be given an appropriate punishment, Headmistress, or I will be calling the Aurors myself. I also expect it to be clearly understood, Ronald and Romilda, that should any slander about myself or my daughter make its way into the public arena, that I will take legal action against you for that as well. I will sue you for all you possess. I believe you are a Quidditch player, Ronald? And do you have to abide by a code of conduct?" Harry nodded in the background. He had never played professional Quidditch himself but his wife had, and he knew just how strict the contracts were in that respect.

Hermione gave him a single nod in acknowledgement and continued her tirade. "I may not be successful with any charges I press, being only a despised Mudblood, however, that will not save you from the scandal. Should I press charges against you and your family, you will no doubt be fired from your team. Not only that, but I would imagine it would be very difficult for you to find another team willing to take you on. Stop behaving like an entitled, obnoxious _git_ and grow up! I cannot begin to imagine how mortified Molly and Arthur must be at your attitude. I know they certainly didn't bring you up to be another _Draco Malfoy!_"

As Hermione took Aimée into her arms and tried to comfort her, Minerva spoke. "Mr Reuben Weasley will be on probation for the rest of the year. He will not be allowed his wand outside class, and even then, only in practical lessons in Transfiguration, Charms, Defence and Herbology. He will also have a monitoring charm on him until the end of the term; whether or not it will be extended will depend on him. Should he be other than in his classes, the Great Hall, the Gryffindor common room, the library or the infirmary, an alarm will sound, alerting the staff who will then investigate. He will also have detention three nights a week and every Saturday until the end of the term. Sundays and the other free nights will be used to complete his homework — under supervision, since his work to date has been completely unacceptable. The staff and prefects will be watching you, Mr Weasley. Should Miss Gale or anyone else be harmed further at your hands, the Aurors will indeed be summoned. You will not get off so lightly again."

Minerva removed the silencing charms from Ronald and Romilda and Ronald promptly exploded "No! This is rubbish! My son is better than the daughter of that Mudblood bitch whore! I refuse to accept this! I demand that you leave my son alone and kick out Granger's spawn. My family has been attending Hogwarts for centuries and this upstart cow needs to learn her place."

"MR WEASLEY!" Minerva roared. "Attendance at Hogwarts is by invitation. It is not a right. You can either accept my judgement on your son or you can take him away. If you do that, however, don't expect me to accept him back again."

Hermione silenced Ronald again and Severus pulled his wand out and invited the Weasley parents to leave. Neither of them was brave enough to challenge Severus Snape, especially as they could see that Harry, Hermione and Minerva all had their wands out as well and would support Severus if need be. After the pair of them had been unbound and whisked away in the floo, a silence descended upon the office. Aimée, who had burrowed into her mother's loving embrace, was sobbing quietly. Both she and her mother were shaking from the confrontation with the Weasleys. Luckily, Severus had come prepared and he extracted two Calming Draughts from his pocket, handing one each to Hermione and Aimée, while Harry took charge of Reuben's wand and sent his nephew off under the escort of Argus Filch to begin his months of detention. Harry tentatively stepped towards Hermione but Hermione stepped away from him, still too angry and hurt to hear his apologies.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he said, looking into her eyes.

"You always are, Harry," she answered wearily. "I don't want to hear it anymore, though. It's very easy to say the words _I'm sorry_ but those words are nothing but meaningless platitudes without a change in behaviour. Tell me, what would you have done if Ronald had pulled a wand on one of your children? Would you have just let him hex your child? No, of course not! So why should I let him hex Aimée? Why would you think that's acceptable? Besides, this isn't about what you did or didn't do twelve years ago — or even today. It's about where we go from here with regard to my daughter's schooling."

"You don't mean you'd take her out of Hogwarts, do you?" he gasped in dismay.

"I most certainly do!" Hermione snapped. "If Aimée stays at Hogwarts, can you guarantee her safety? You can't, can you? Ronald pulled his wand on Aimée while you sat back and did nothing. Reuben nearly killed my daughter. He has shown no remorse whatsoever, and yet if I were to approach the DMLE for redress, he'd get away with nothing more than a token slap on the wrist just because of his blood status. Nothing's changed, has it? When Professor Snape was a student, he was targeted by a bunch of vicious bullies and the staff did absolutely nothing about it, not even when Sirius Black tried to murder him. Anyone seeing a pattern here? When I was in school, I was verbally attacked almost every day for being a Mudblood and nothing happened to stop it. The staff didn't step in, not once. Luna Lovegood was bullied quite horribly by her fellow Ravenclaws and, again, no one did anything. Who knows how many students have been bullied over the years while the members of staff, who are supposed to be responsible for the welfare of all students and not just a favoured few, ignored it. Did you think if you pretended it wasn't happening, that it would just go away?" she asked, scorn dripping from every pore.

"Now my daughter is being targeted and while I can see that the Headmistress and Professor Snape are actually trying to do something about it — finally! — their options are severely limited. I appreciate the punishment that has been imposed but we all know it won't be an effective deterrent. It won't teach Reuben Weasley that what he did was wrong, since his parents clearly don't accept that. We can't even take legal action because as a Mudblood…" everyone winced but said nothing "…any charges I press against a Pureblood will be dismissed, regardless of their validity, simply because of Reuben Weasley's blood status. Aimée, chérie, go to your common room and say goodbye to your friends. I'll come along shortly to help you pack, since Madam Pomfrey wants you to take it easy today."

Aimée looked quite relieved to hear she would be leaving Hogwarts. She had made some good friends and she loved learning about potions from her Head of House but Hogwarts had not been a good experience for her. The continuing and increasing aggression from Reuben Weasley, the attack on her the day before and now the encounter with Ronald Weasley had all frightened her badly and she was terrified of what Reuben might do to her next. Phoebe was blissfully happy at Sauveterre and Aimée was regretting ever wanting to attend Hogwarts. "What about my friends outside Slytherin? I'd like to say goodbye to them, too," she asked shakily.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, as she knew just how rare inter-House friendships were. "Who are they? I'm sure Professor Snape won't mind sending for them so you can say goodbye. Don't forget, you can always write to them when you leave. Perhaps we could invite your friends to come and visit during the summer, so that you can see them again."

Aimée looked at her Head of House pleadingly. "Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin," she said.

There were gasps at that. Fortunately, Ron was no longer present or he would have been yelling about Aimée befriending a Weasley. Hermione's eyes softened at the mention of Teddy, who she had not seen since just before his second birthday. "Victoire? I assume from her French name that she's Bill and Fleur's child? I hope they won't object to her being friends with Aimée?" she asked Ginny, who had returned to the office, hoping to see Hermione.

"Of course not," she replied, shaking her head.

Hermione snorted to herself. _'There's no of course about it, otherwise Ron wouldn't be such an arse,'_ she thought.

"What about your job, Mum? Will you still be here in Britain?" Aimée asked.

"Don't worry about that. I have a get-out clause in my contract. I made sure of it, in case for any reason we wanted or needed to go back to Canada. Admittedly, I didn't expect something like this to happen! I only need to give a month's notice and I can leave without penalty. Family issues back home in Canada will be accepted as sufficient reason. As for the house I'm renting, it was understood that it was a short-term rental, so it has a similar get-out clause," Hermione reassured her daughter. "And if it'll be boring for you to hang around the house all day while I'm at work, then you can go back to Canada early, if you like? You can either stay at home with Aunt Penny or you can stay with either Nanny and Pappy or Granny and Gramps if you want?" Nanny and Pappy were Xavier and Constance Bellamy, Hermione's employers in Canada, who had treated Hermione like a daughter since they first met her back when she was pregnant with Aimée. Granny and Gramps were Penelope Clearwater's parents, the whole clan having accepted Hermione and Aimée as family because Aimée and Penny's daughter, Phoebe, were cousins.

Aimée shook her head. "I'd rather go home, if that's all right?"

"Of course it is, chérie. Aunt Penny and Phoebe will be delighted to have you back home again. I'll be back in time for Christmas and you can start Sauveterre after the holidays. Over the next few weeks until the school holidays start, you could help Aunt Penny at the Day-care Centre, if you want."

"Hermione… I mean, Nonie. Forgive me asking, but how is Penelope Clearwater Aimée's aunt?" queried Ginny tentatively.

Hermione smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Ginny. It's not only my story to tell."

Ginny looked dissatisfied but accepted that Hermione was not going to explain.

Harry looked at Hermione pleadingly. "Promise me that you won't just disappear without word again? I know I deserved it — I should have given you the support you've always given me — but Ron had me snowed. I'm a idiot and a fool and I'm so sorry for being so obtuse."

Hermione sighed. "Ron still does have you snowed, Harry. You need to learn to look at both sides of a story. The fact that you can even blame me for protecting my daughter against him astounds me and I can't just forgive and forget. Not this time. You're going to have to earn that forgiveness, Harry. There will be certain conditions to me staying in touch," she warned.

"Anything!" he said eagerly.

"First of all, I don't want anyone to know I'm back. Not even the rest of the Weasleys. I don't want to see _anyone_ — I'm not willing to take the risk of bumping into either Ronald and Romilda, or the very many others who made my life in the wizarding world here in Britain so miserable."

Harry reluctantly agreed. "All right. What else?"

Hermione sighed. "I know you're sorry for everything that happened but you hurt me very badly and I won't let you do that to me again. We can never regain the depth of friendship that we had in our childhood, but we can try and rebuild some semblance of friendship through correspondence. Just know that it'll take time before I feel I can trust you again, if ever."

Harry nodded morosely. "Where should I send the letters?"

"Owl me. You shouldn't need an address that way. Just make sure to tell the owl to take the letter to Nonie Gale and not Hermione Granger."

"You promise you will write back? You'll stay in touch?" he begged.

"Yes. I'll stay in touch," Hermione conceded.

"That's all I ask," Harry whispered in her ear, as he took her in his arms and gave her a hug. Hermione, however, stood stiffly and did not return it. After a moment, she pushed him gently away. Harry was disappointed in her reaction but could not blame her. He had messed up very badly and he knew it.

In the background, Severus growled quietly to himself as he saw Harry hugging Hermione. Ginny Potter, the only one close enough to hear him raised an eyebrow. _'So that's the way the wind lies,'_ she thought. _'Well, perhaps it'll encourage Hermione to come back. They'd be good together,_ she decided with a smirk. Being far more intelligent than her husband or her brother, however, she resolved not to say anything, not even to Harry. _'Perhaps Minerva,'_ she thought.

"It was good to see you again, Hermione. I've missed you so much," Harry said sadly. "And you," he continued, turning to Aimée. "It's been a pleasure getting to know you, Miss Gale. Take care of your mother; she's one special lady."

Aimée simply nodded, too overwhelmed with all that had occurred to respond verbally. Seeing that, Hermione took her leave. "We need to go," she said softly. Harry, Ginny and Minerva all hugged Hermione again and Severus led them out of the Headmistress' office.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 13**

As they walked down to the dungeons, Aimée holding tightly onto Hermione's hand, Hermione glanced impishly at Severus. "So, am I allowed in the Slytherin common room?"

"Well, normally I wouldn't permit a Gryffindor access but given that Poppy will hex us both if we allow your daughter to do her own packing, I guess I'll have to this time, lest you set me on fire again," Severus drawled and Hermione blushed, while Aimée looked from one to the other in confusion.

"During Harry's first Quidditch match, someone was jinxing his broom. We later found out that another professor had been possessed by Voldemort and was responsible, but at the time, we thought it was Professor Snape. I snuck around behind and set his robes on fire. Admittedly, he wasn't the culprit but I unknowingly knocked over the real culprit on my way to Professor Snape. He had to have Harry's broom in sight all the time and continually reinforce the jinx for it to keep hold and when I knocked him over, the connection broke. By the time he was upright again, Harry had caught the snitch and landed."

"Why did you think it was Professor Snape?" asked Aimée. She liked her snarky professor and couldn't understand why her mother would think badly of him.

"We could see that he was chanting something and assumed it was the curse, not the counter-curse. Professor Snape was a spy and, even though it was between the wars, he had to maintain his cover. He played the villain very well. He couldn't be seen to treat Gryffindors well and he had issues with Harry in particular. We were young enough to take things at face value and easily believed he was the villain," Hermione explained.

By this time, they had arrived at the common room. As Head of House, Severus did not need a password. He tapped the entrance with his wand and the hidden entrance in the wall opened for him. Hermione looked around curiously. She had never seen any common room apart from Gryffindor's and her mind was busy cataloguing the differences between the two. Severus observed her in amusement. "Yes, it's _very_ different to the Gryffindor common room, isn't it?"

Recalled to her senses, Hermione looked at her daughter. "Why don't we go and pack and then you can say goodbye to your friends. There's no rush, you can take as long as you want, Aimée," Hermione said, running her hand through her daughter's hair.

"Thanks, Mum," Aimée whispered, giving Hermione a quick hug. Taking her mother's hand again, she pulled her along to the girls' dorms.

"Madam Gale," Severus called and Hermione turned round, one eyebrow raised in a silent query. "Aimée and her friends are welcome to use my classroom for their farewells. Perhaps you would care to join me in my office for tea while they talk? There's something I'd like to discuss with you before you leave."

"Of course, Professor Snape. Will you be in your office when we finish here?" she graciously agreed.

"I will," he said, before turning and sweeping out of the common room, robes billowing behind him, much to Hermione's amusement. She could not count the number of times she had seen that sight in the past and it brought back many memories, both good and bad. With a sigh, she turned to follow her daughter.

Suddenly tired, Aimée sat down on the bed and watched as her mother packed for her. It did not take long and with a few quick swishes of her wand, everything was neatly packed into Aimée's trunk.

"Wow!" whispered Zephyr, who was also watching.

Hermione smiled at her. "Don't worry, you'll be just as good in time, I'm sure. It just takes practice… usually, anyway." Hermione sat down next to Aimée. "I didn't tell you that I knew the parents of your friend, Teddy Lupin, did I? Well, his mother, who was a Metamorphmagus — that's where Teddy gets it from — was one of the clumsiest people I've ever met. I think it might be because being a Metamorphmagus affected her centre of balance. Anyway, she was as an Auror and very scary with a wand. I duelled her once or twice. Of course, I wasn't supposed to as I was underage at the time, but we were in a house where underage magic couldn't be detected, so she decided to give me some training. She never could manage to get the hang of household spells, though. Anything defensive or offensive and she was utterly brilliant, but household spells and she just didn't get on with each other." Hermione looked at the girls. "I'm sure you'll all do fine but don't worry if you get a block with one type of spell. The worst thing you can do is pressure yourself. Just relax and keep practising and either you'll work through it or you'll find something else you excel at instead."

"Thank you, Madam Gale," said Zephyr. "That's probably the best advice we've been given since starting Hogwarts."

Hermione began to laugh. "Of course, sometimes people do actually learn better under pressure. Have you heard stories about Professor Potter and the Tri-wizard Tournament?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so," said Aimée, even as Zephyr nodded.

"It's a magical tournament that was held every five years between Europe's three largest schools. A champion was selected for each school and they had to compete in three dangerous tasks. It was cancelled after the 1792 Tri-wizard Tournament, when the death count was too high." The girls looked at her, wide-eyed, and she nodded solemnly. "There were several unsuccessful attempts to resurrect it over the years but there was no revival until I was in my fourth year at Hogwarts. At that time, a teacher who later turned out to be a Death Eater, manipulated the Goblet of Fire, which chose the champions, into thinking four schools were competing and entered the name of Harry Potter under the name of whatever false school he chose. So, of course, Harry got selected, since he was the only entry for that school. A new rule had been introduced that year so that only students who were of age could try and enter the competition. Harry, however, was only fourteen and didn't have nearly as much knowledge as the other champions. There are traditionally three tasks in the tournament and the first one involved the champions having to get past nesting dragons to steal a golden egg. Harry, who was a superb flyer, decided to use his broomstick and fly around the dragon. It was a good plan apart from one minor detail: he wasn't allowed to take his broom with him into the arena, he could only take his wand. We had only just been taught the Summoning Charm and Harry had been having problems with it. The night before the first task, I spent most of the night helping him to learn the charm. Once he had finally got it, he joked that perhaps when he was having trouble learning a spell in the future, we should threaten him with a dragon!¹³"

The two girls laughed at that story. Hermione was pleased to see a smile on Aimée's face, as the encounter with Ron and Romilda had been traumatic for her daughter and, upon returning to the common room, she had looked very pale and wan. With the laughter, colour was returning to her cheeks.

"Will you introduce us, Aimée?" Hermione asked.

"Oops! Sorry, Mum! This is my friend, Zephyr Sykes. Zephyr, as I think you worked out for yourself, this is my Mum," said Aimée, making the introductions.

"You do look rather like her, Aimée. It wasn't hard to work out," Zephyr joked. "It's nice to meet you Ma'am."

Hermione smiled at the young girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Zephyr. Aimée has told me a lot about you. You've been a good friend to her."

"Thank you. She's been a good friend to me, too," said Zephyr with a smile.

"Zephyr, you've probably worked out that Aimée is leaving Hogwarts. I hope you'll write to her and maybe your parents will let you come and visit during the summer holidays," suggested Hermione.

Zephyr, who had been looking sad as she watched Hermione pack Aimée's trunk cheered up at that. "Of course I'll write to her! And I'd love to come and visit if my parents will let me."

"Perhaps they could come too," suggested Hermione. "Have a holiday in Canada."

Zephyr nodded solemnly. "I'll ask them," she promised.

Good," said Hermione. "Now, could you do us a favour, please? Could you round up Aimée's friends and bring them all down to Professor Snape's office to say goodbye to her? That includes her friends from other Houses, like Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin."

"Of course!" exclaimed Zephyr, bounding off her bed and running out.

With another flick of her wand, Hermione shrunk Aimée's trunk and tucked it in her pocket. "Come on, beloved Aimée," she said, holding out her hand to her daughter.

Aimée gladly took Hermione's hand and walked out with her. When they reached the Potions Master's office, Hermione knocked on the door. When he barked "Enter!" they pushed the door open.

"Aimée, sweetheart, sit down, please. Professor, would you mind looking her over — I think she might need a Pepperup Potion — or would Madam Pomfrey prefer to check over Aimée herself?" asked Hermione.

"I have no doubt that our beloved Mediwitch would prefer to check over Miss Gale herself but let me see if it's necessary before you drag her down here," he drawled, waving his wand. Turning, he headed towards his store room. "Drink this, Miss Gale," he ordered as he returned with a small vial in his hand. The Pepperup did much to refresh her but Severus warned Hermione. "Don't give her any more. When Miss Gale has finished saying goodbye to her friends, Poppy will come and check on her, and will probably advocate lots of rest rather than lots of Pepperup."

Hermione nodded. "That's fine. Aimée can rest when we get back home and then when Poppy thinks she's recovered enough to travel, she can go back to Canada. I'm sure she'll be much happier at home and Penny will look after her very well."

"That would be Penelope Clearwater, would it not?" asked Severus.

"Yes, it is. Aimée and I share a home with her and her daughter," Hermione explained.

_'Ah! That explains why Aimée calls her Aunt. Because she lives with her,' _he realised in satisfaction at having solved that mystery. For all his acuity, Severus did not realise the other reason. He had not paid attention to the romance between Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater.

A knock came at the door and three Slytherin first year girls, plus Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin all filed in. Hermione smiled when she saw Victoire and Teddy. Victoire looked so much like her mother that it was immediately obvious who she was and Teddy, whose hair was in his favourite shade of blue, looked very much a mix of both his parents. She had a pang of regret for all the years she had missed but banished it from her mind. _'I had different priorities,'_ she admitted, albeit with a touch of sadness. _'Aimée needed me to leave Britain far more than Teddy needed me to stay. He had his grandmother, the Potters and the Weasleys. Aimée only had me.'_

Severus indicated to the children that they should go through to his classroom. Closing the connecting door behind him, he waved his wand, erecting a ward that Hermione was unfamiliar with. She raised her eyebrows at him and he explained. "It allows us to hear them but keeps our conversation private."

Hermione looked excited to hear about that. "Would you teach it to me, please?" she asked enthusiastically and Severus burst out laughing.

"You haven't changed at all, have you, Madam Gale? Still a little know-it-all!" This last was said with amused affection rather than the biting sarcasm of her childhood and she grinned at him.

"Nope," she agreed cheerfully. "In that respect, I'm still the same."

"That's good to know," he said warmly and Hermione blushed.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Severus shifted in his chair. "Would you like some tea, Madam Gale?" he asked politely.

"I'd love some, please," she answered. "And call me Nonie."

"Severus," he replied.

He summoned an elf and requested tea. Two minutes later, a tea tray appeared in front of them with a pop. Severus poured two cups and then sat back in his chair. Cup in his hands, he eyed Hermione appraisingly. "Are you ever going to tell her that her father is that witless oaf she met earlier today?"

Fortunately, Hermione was not drinking at the time or she would undoubtedly have sprayed tea all over Severus' desk. After the rather harrowing confrontation with Ronald, she had completely forgotten that Severus had indicated previously that he had worked out Aimée's parentage. Startled, she looked up at him, only to see him smirk back in response.

"As her Head of House, I have access to her records. I checked her date of birth. It seemed fairly obvious," he explained.

Hermione sighed. "I suppose it must be. I'm grateful no one else seems to be aware when her birthday is."

"I'm surprised no one thought to ask me!" he retorted. "I believe they all assumed that Gale is your married name and so it didn't occur to them that the Ginger Menace might be her father. She really is you through and through, isn't she? I can't tell you how grateful I was when I realised who her father is that she clearly has your brains."

Hermione grinned. "I know! I give thanks for that every day, too! Severus, I don't suppose you know if magic could affect something like that? A child taking completely after one parent and not at all after the other?"

"I'm afraid I don't. Why?"

"I kept wishing during my pregnancy that she would be like me and not Ronald and, well, you said yourself there's nothing of Ronald in her. I wondered if magic might have responded to that wish somehow."

"Hmm, it is something to consider, I suppose. Who knows what magic can do? However, if you wish to pursue that line of thought then I would suggest you wait until you have returned to Canada. It would not be advisable to ask questions like that here," he advised. "Britain would be horrified that a mother can wish for the father to play no part in the formation of a child in the womb. It could even cause fathers to disown their children."

Hermione shook her head. "I certainly won't ask! It's something I've been wondering about ever since she was born. Penny and I have speculated about it many times but I've never wanted to know the answer. She's my daughter and I love her and that's good enough for me."

Severus nodded. "So will you tell her?" he asked.

"I told her a long time ago that her father and I didn't part on good terms but that if she ever wanted to know about him or to meet him, I'd arrange it. I told her not to judge him just because he and I were no longer friends."

Severus snorted. "Well, he's hardly likely to have endeared himself to her today! I suspect that if ever you were to mention his name to her, that would end any desire for her to get to know him," he drawled dryly.

Hermione giggled. "I imagine you're right. Thank you, Severus. For taking care of Aimée and for keeping my secrets."

"It's a pleasure, Nonie. It was always a regret of mine that I wasn't in a position to be able to encourage you when you attended Hogwarts. With you being a Gryffindor, a Muggleborn _and_ Potter's best friend, it would have been far too dangerous for us both. It's been a delight to teach Aimée. I completely understand why you're withdrawing her from Hogwarts and agree with your decision. I'm just sorry I won't be able to see her progress as a potioneer. She has real talent."

Hermione glowed at this praise of her beloved daughter. "I wonder, Severus, if you would be open to receiving letters from Aimée? Her letters to me have been full of how you've been mentoring her. She appreciated it so much. I'm sure she'd love to keep in touch."

"I'd be honoured," he said, deeply touched. "In fact, I'd like to write a letter to the Potions Mistress at Sauveterre about Aimée, if I may?"

"I'm sure Aimée would be honoured," Hermione replied, echoing his words.

"Then I shall do so," smiled Severus.

Hermione smiled back warmly. _'He's a good man,'_ she thought. _'Far more so than Ronald, Harry or those dratted Marauders who drove him into the arms of Voldemort. I wouldn't mind getting to know him better.'_

"Severus?" she asked. "Would you mind if I wrote to you as well? I'd like to stay in touch with you, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," he replied warmly. "In fact, I'd like that very much."

They smiled at each other again and then began to talk of other matters: potions theory, book preservation, articles and books they had both read, and much else. Eventually, the teapot was empty and when Severus offered to get a refill, Hermione regretfully demurred.

"I would love to stay and talk more but I'm afraid I can't. I think it's time to take Aimée home. She needs to rest," Hermione replied.

"Of course," he said, standing up and ushering her towards his classroom. "It was good to see you again, Nonie."

"You too, Severus."

Hermione collected Aimée, who insisted on introducing them all to Hermione before leaving. "Hyacinth Higgs and Anthea Pucey? Are your fathers Terrence and Adrian? I remember them," she said when the two girls nodded. "I was in a different year so we didn't really know each other but I knew who they were. It's nice to meet you both."

Hermione turned to Teddy and Victoire with a warm smile. "And there's no mistaking who you two are. I knew your parents quite well. My name is Nonie Gale but they would have known me as Hermione Granger. You may have heard of me?" The gasps of surprise told Hermione that they had all heard of her, not only the two Gryffindors. "Your parents were very special people, Teddy, and I still miss them. Your parents were always very good to me as well, Victoire. Please give them my regards but I would ask you to wait a few weeks until you do so. When she writes to you, Aimée will let you know when it will be all right to mention me."

Victoire nodded, not understanding but acceding to Hermione's request. Hermione chatted with Aimée's friends for a few more minutes and then, after encouraging them to write to Aimée and issuing invitations to them all to visit, she and Aimée left. Hermione took Aimée back to the infirmary for Madam Pomfrey to check her over again. She also collected a list of care instructions from the Mediwitch. "I don't care if she travels by Muggle means or by international portkey, she's not to travel at all for another week, do you hear me, Miss Gale?"

"I understand, Madam Pomfrey. Don't worry, I won't do anything to jeopardise Aimée's health," she assured the Mediwitch.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at her. "No, I didn't think you would. You always were the sensible one of the Trio."

Hermione gave the Mediwitch a small smile, not really wanting to be reminded of Ronald, or even Harry. Thanking Madam Pomfrey, they made their way out of the castle. Halfway down to the school gates, Aimée turned and looked back at the castle. "Hogwarts is beautiful but she houses some really ugly-natured people," she commented.

"Unfortunately so," Hermione agreed. "Not that everything at Sauveterre will be all sweetness and light. Real life doesn't work that way," she warned Aimée.

"I know. But at least Reuben Weasley won't be there. Plus, I'll be with Phoebe. I miss her," Aimée protested.

Once they had passed the wards, Hermione side-along apparated Aimée back to their temporary home in Stratford. Once there, Hermione quickly made them a late lunch, after which she unpacked for Aimée and then sent the by now exhausted girl to bed for a nap. All that done, she sat down on the sofa with a badly needed cup of tea and looked at her watch. Seeing that it was too early to phone, she picked up her laptop from the coffee table in front of her and emailed a long missive to Penny, updating her almost sister-in-law as to what had happened.

After a long telephone conversation with Penny the next day, Hermione emailed her month's notice to her current employer and to her landlord, citing family issues in Canada as her reason. Her landlord sent back a straightforward acknowledgement, not really caring one way or the other, but her employer asked to meet with her the next day.

Early on Monday morning, Hermione apparated to Hogsmeade, where there was less chance of her running into someone she knew than in Diagon Alley. Entering the owl post office, she sent off an international post owl to Directrice Leclair, the Headmistress of Sauveterre Academy of Magical Studies, to enrol Aimée for the coming term. That job done, she went to work and her meeting with her employer.

"I'll be very sorry to see you go, Nonie," he said. "You've been the driving force behind this project."

"I'm sorry to be leaving. I would have liked to have seen it through to the end. Circumstances beyond my control, I'm afraid," she apologised.

"Nothing serious, I hope?" he asked concernedly.

"Not serious but it does require my attention and I can't put it off until after this project ends at the end of February." Truth be told, Hermione was sorry to be leaving before the end of the project. She did not like not seeing something through that she had committed to, nor did she like letting people down. She could have stayed in Britain until the end of the project, knowing that Penny would take good care of Aimée in the meantime, however, she had been very tense and jittery ever since she arrived back in Britain and her gut instinct was telling her to leave again. For the sake of her nerves, she would be glad when she was home in Canada. A weight that she was not even aware she had been carrying had lifted from her shoulders when she had decided to hand in her notice and return home. She felt that the only good thing about her stay in Britain was the burgeoning friendship with Severus Snape.

Her employer sighed and gave in graciously. "Can you recommend someone who could take over? I'm not sure anyone in your team is ready for leadership yet," he asked.

Hermione thought for a moment. Digging out her mobile phone, she searched through the address book for a couple of names, scribbling down their telephone numbers and email addresses. "I don't know if either of them is available but they'd both be a good fit for this project," she said. Hermione's employer nodded and pocketed the slip of paper, bidding Hermione a good day as he left her office. With that, she knuckled down to work, wanting to do as much as she could before withdrawing from the project next month.

A week later, Aimée was ready to take her portkey to Canada. Minerva had kindly arranged it for her because Hermione did not want to have to make contact with the Ministry. Aimée's trunk was packed, shrunk and in her pocket. Aimée gave Hermione one last hug.

"Don't worry, Mum. I'll be fine until you get back," she reassured her tearful mother.

"I know, beloved Aimée," Hermione replied, kissing Aimée's head. "Now remember, to call me and let me know you got there safely."

"Yes, Mum," Aimée said, rolling her eyes. Every time Aimée did that, Hermione was reminded of just how much like herself Aimée was. With one last kiss and a hug, Hermione spoke the activation word and Aimée was whisked away to the Ministry of Magic in Ottawa, where Penny would be waiting for her. They would floo home together from there.

The next few weeks passed quickly for Hermione, as she focused her energies on her job, working long hours as she tried to compensate for quitting before the project was finished. Her feelings of guilt were not enough to make her change her mind and decide to stay and see the project through. Hermione was counting the days until she could leave Britain, which she had developed a strong aversion to, a feeling that increased with every letter from Harry. He wrote to her once a week and she actually had to force herself to open his letters and read them. Deep down, she admitted to herself that it would be nice to regain her friendship with Harry but, in reality, she knew that ship had sailed long ago.

She arrived back in Canada a week before Christmas, two days earlier than Aimée expected, having arranged with Penny to surprise Aimée. Apparating outside the apartment, Hermione opened the door and went in. "Hello?" she called. "Anybody home?"

"Mum!" cried Aimée, who came barrelling out of her room, where she had been reading over her new course books for Sauveterre and catching up on assignments. Although she would only begin studying at Sauveterre after the holidays, the Headmistress had sent Aimée all the assignments her year group had received during the first term, so that she would not fall behind her classmates. Penny had helped her with the practical work in the evenings. Most of the first term's curriculum was fairly similar to that of Hogwarts but there were still the weeks of schooling that she had missed to be taken into account. Between Penny and Directrice Leclair, they had ensured she would be at the same stage as the rest of her year when she joined Sauveterre.

"Hello, beloved Aimée," whispered Hermione, as she caught her daughter in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"I thought you weren't coming for two more days?" asked Aimée with an enormous smile.

"I wanted to surprise you," answered Hermione with a smile of her won.

"You did! It's the best surprise!" said Aimée, happily cuddling her mother.

By the time Hermione had unpacked and settled back into the familiar apartment, it was as though she had never been away. She was extremely grateful to be home again. "Remind me never to accept another job offer in Britain," she said to Penny, as they sat chatting over a glass of wine that evening.

"That bad?" asked Penny sympathetically.

Hermione shuddered. "That bad," she confirmed with a nod. "Different to how it was when we were children but just as bad in it's own way. I feel a bit of a traitor for abandoning Britain to its problems but Severus says that's the behaviour of a fool. He says I can't fix everything and that I shouldn't feel guilty about doing what's right for myself for a change."

"Severus, huh?" asked Penny with a smirk. Hermione had shown no interest in dating in all the years they had been sharing a flat but there seemed to be a definite frisson of attraction here. Penny was pleased to see it. She had worried about Hermione's almost nun-like existence. She knew why Hermione found it so hard to trust people but living a half life was not good for her. _'Sometimes, we have to take a chance and risk getting hurt,'_ Penny thought, not for the first time.

Hermione blushed, to Penny's great pleasure. Like the good friend she was, she refrained from teasing Hermione. "I'm not sure I can imagine ever calling Professor Snape by his first name," Penny shivered. "I'm still too scared of him!"

Hermione chuckled. "He's not quite so scary now that he doesn't have to play a role all the time. He was very good to both me and Aimée. He's developed a bit of a fondness for her. He mentored her in potions, in addition to the regularly scheduled classes, and he promised to write to the Potions Mistress at Sauveterre about Aimée."

"Mistress Betony Green? She's good but she's no Professor Snape," said Penny. "Phoebe and Felix like her but I'm not sure Aimée will be too impressed, not if she's been receiving private tutoring from Professor Snape."

Hermione sighed. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said. "Worse come to worst, I'll ask Severus for a recommendation for a private Potions tutor, to help Aimée along on home weekends and during the holidays. That'll have to satisfy her for now."

.o.O.o.

¹³ _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 20_ by JK Rowling

.o.O.o.

A/N: Don't worry - we're not finished with Britain, Severus or the Weasleys yet!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 14**

The Bellamys and the Clearwaters were all so pleased to have Hermione and Aimée back home that they insisted on having a joint Christmas, with the whole extended family together. Due to lack of space elsewhere, thanks to the ever-growing number of grandchildren, the families decided to host it in Penny's day-care centre. Fortunately, they had received permission some years ago to tell the Bellamys about magic, as it had been hard to keep the children's accidental magic a secret from them. Even more fortunately, the Bellamys had been very accepting of the family secret.

When the family exchanged gifts together, Hermione gave Aimée some new clothes and a pretty and delicate, matching necklace, earrings and bracelet set. What excited Aimée the most was the voucher saying _"__IOU one magical pet__."_ Aimée had wanted to take a pet to Hogwarts with her but Hermione had decided to wait until they knew if she would be staying in Hogwarts or transferring to Sauveterre. Now that they were back home again, it was time to live up to her promise.

Aimée had two presents for Hermione. The first was a framed sketch Aimée had made of herself and her mother together. It was based on a much-loved magical photograph that had been taken of the two of them together on Aimée's tenth birthday. Aimée was quite a talented artist and her sketch had all the charm of the original photograph. Unlike the photograph, the sketch was portrait-sized and Hermione had the perfect place for it on the wall in her room.

Aimée had also received an envelope from Professor Snape, _"To be opened on Christmas morning, before you give your present to your mother."_ Opening the envelope, she extracted a letter and an official-looking document. She read the short letter and then dropped it in shock, grabbing the other document. Glancing curiously at it, she saw the heading _Worldwide Patent_ and gave a strangled whoop.

"What is it, Aimée? Is something wrong?" Hermione immediately asked in concern. Aimée shook her head dumbly and thrust a wooden box at her mother.

Hermione opened the box to see it was full of potions vials. Taking one vial out, she looked at it curiously, not recognising the potion. "Aimée?" she asked, looking curiously at her daughter.

With an audible gulp, Aimée showed Hermione the document and the letter from Severus Snape.

As Hermione read the letter with dawning wonder, Aimée babbled an explanation. "I wanted to develop a potion to help you with the muscle spasms and joint pains. I came up with something that I thought would work and when I showed it to Professor Snape, he confirmed it would. I made some for your Christmas present. You pour it into the bath and soak in it. You can even use it when you're feeling tired and not just because you _need_ to use it. I didn't know but Professor Snape patented it in my name. He wants to begin brewing it and wants to know where he should transfer my royalty payments."

Hermione was beaming. "I'm so, so proud of you," she said emotionally, grabbing Aimée in a hug. "I can't wait to try it out. Thank you, beloved Aimée."

"You impressed _Professor Snape_?" asked Penny in shock, reading the letter over Hermione's shoulder. "Aimée, that's fantastic!"

"Which? Impressing Professor Snape or creating the potion?" she asked cheekily.

"Both!" exclaimed Penny, hugging her niece. "Well done! Creating your own potion at age eleven — that's an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations, Aimée."

Hermione was reading and rereading the letter from Severus, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm so very blessed to have you, my daughter," she whispered, as she took Aimée in her arms again and kissed Aimée's head, her daughter happily snuggling into her embrace.

That evening, Hermione wrote to Severus to give him the details of Aimée's vault in Gringotts Montréal. As neither she nor Penny owned an owl, she decided that if she were going to be corresponding with Severus, it would be a good idea to buy an owl when she took Aimée to get a pet. Aimée, if she did not choose an owl herself, would be able to use school owls during term time and her mother's owl during the holidays. This way, she would be able to keep in touch easily with her school friends, both from Sauveterre and from Hogwarts.

Early the next morning, Aimée came bounding into her mother's room and jumped on the bed. "Can we go and get my pet now, Mum? Can we? Please?"

Hermione blearily opened her eyes, amused despite the fact that she was still half asleep, at her daughter's antics. Glancing over at the clock, she groaned. "Aimée, it's only seven o' clock. We're not going anywhere before nine. Why don't you go back to bed with a book?"

"Can I get into bed with you?" she asked hopefully.

"Only if you let me sleep for a bit longer," replied Hermione.

"Deal!" said Aimée, crawling under the covers. She cuddled up against her mother, who put her arms around her and held her tightly. It had been a long time since Aimée had joined Hermione in bed in the morning, deeming herself too grown up for that now. Hermione happily breathed in the scent of her daughter, simply enjoying holding her while she could, since it would not be long before Aimée went off to school again.

The two women dozed off and woke up again an hour or so later. After breakfast, they headed out to the Quartier Magique and the magical pet store, Aimée bubbling over with excitement.

"Bonjour, Mesdames. How can I help you today?" asked the shopkeeper.

"I would like to buy an international post owl and my daughter would also like a pet, Monsieur," Hermione explained.

The shopkeeper smiled kindly at the excited girl. "Do you know what kind of pet you would like, Mademoiselle?"

Aimée shook her head. "Maman used to have a half-kneazle when she was younger. And an owl would be useful. I don't know what I want, though. May I just look around the shop and see what I connect with?"

"Of course you may," he agreed. "And while you browse, I'll help your Maman find a post owl."

There were owls of all shapes and sizes in the pet store. Hermione looked from one to another, cooing at them all. They truly were all magnificent birds. Unfortunately, that did not help her make a decision. Suddenly she noticed a snowy owl, almost hidden behind the others. "Oh!" she exclaimed.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" asked the shopkeeper, following her eyes.

"Oh, yes. She reminds me of an owl I used to know. She belonged to a friend of mine," said Hermione looking into the owl's intelligent eyes and gently stroking her.

"I think it's a match, non?" he asked with a twinkle of his eyes.

"I think so. Would you like to be my owl?" she asked and the owl hooted in response.

"That settles it!" laughed Hermione. "I'll need full supplies, including a perch."

The shopkeeper nodded and gathered up what Hermione would need. As the shopkeeper went off to package everything together, she chatted to her new pet. "Now, I imagine you won't want to apparate with me, will you?" she said to the owl. "How about I just let you go to make your own way home? You'll be able to find me once I'm home, won't you?"

The owl hooted in response and flapped her wings enthusiastically. "All right. When I've paid, I'll let you go, so this kind gentleman doesn't think I'm stealing you," she said to the owl with a smile. "Now, what shall I call you? Certainly not Hedwig, that's for sure; that would be too bizarre. Blanchette? It's a pretty name, I suppose, but somewhat unoriginal for a snowy owl. Well, I'll think about it."

At that point, Aimée came running up, with a furry bundle in her arms. "Look, Mummy!" she cried, her eyes shining.

"What have you found?" Hermione asked, reaching over to stroke the animal curled up contentedly in Aimée's arms.

"It's a Fennec fox kit! She came running over to me as soon as she saw me. Isn't she adorable?"

"Yes, she is," said Hermione, smiling at the cute little fox with the big ears and beautiful black eyes. "And how appropriate for you, given your wand core."

With a hand on her shoulder, Hermione steered Aimée over to the shopkeeper. "My, my. That's an unusual choice of pet, Mademoiselle," he said.

Aimée shook her head emphatically. "I didn't choose her. She chose me."

"Did she now? Well, in that case, I'd say you're meant to be together," he smiled at her.

Aimée chose a cushioned, washable pet bed in a bright, cheery, citrus orange with white polka dots. They also selected food, a carry case, food and drinking bowls and a collar, the disc of which Hermione promised to have engraved with Aimée's and the fox's names, once Aimée had named her. It was a rule at Sauveterre that pets should have identification tags. Slipping the fox into the carry case, Hermione shrank all their packages and put them in her pocket. Then, after releasing the owl to fly home by herself, Hermione apparated Aimée and her new pet home.

"I hope she gets on all right with Fantôme," said Aimée worriedly. Fantôme was Phoebe's grey kneazle/cat crossbreed.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Hermione reassured her. "They're both magical animals. That makes them highly intelligent. They'll understand who they each belong to and won't fight. They won't fight with my owl either."

"That's good," said Aimée in relief.

"I suggest you show her around the apartment. Let her see her bed in your room, so she'll understand where she's to sleep at night; she'll be more settled when she knows where her space is." Not that Hermione actually expected the Fennec fox to use the pet bed. Rather like Phoebe and Fantôme, and her own half-kneazle cat, Crookshanks, when she herself was younger, Hermione fully expected the little fox to curl up on her mistress' bed at night. "Also show her which litter tray and food bowls are hers. That way, she and Fantôme will know what belongs to each of them and won't argue over it. Then you can bring her back out into the living room while you discuss names with her."

Aimée looked up at her mother in disbelief. "Seriously?"

Hermione nodded with a laugh. "Oh, yes. I'm sure she'll make it clear if she doesn't like a name you suggest."

While Aimée showed her pet around the apartment, Hermione welcomed in her owl and set up the perch in the family room. Hermione filled the feeding dishes attached to the perch with water and owl pellets and the owl hooted in approval. Hermione smiled as Aimée curled up on the couch with her Fennec fox in her lap, remembering how much she had enjoyed cuddling up with Crookshanks, who had died during the war. She had never been able to bring herself to get another cat since. Fantôme was similarly purring away in his mistress' lap.

"We've got quite a menagerie," commented Penny in amusement.

"Seems so," agreed Hermione. "Well, Aimée and I both need to name our new friends. Do you want to go first, baby?"

Aimée shook her head. "I'm still thinking," she said.

"Well, my lady. It looks like you get named first," said Hermione to her owl, who had flitted over to perch on the back of Hermione's chair, Hermione having placed a thick, padded cloth over it to protect it. "Any ideas?" she asked her family.

"Polgara!" they all chorused at once, naming a character in a fantasy series that they all enjoyed reading. They had two complete sets of the books in the flat and they were both worn and well-read. Polgara¹⁴ was a sorceress who could shape-shift and her favourite alternate form was that of a snowy owl.

"Well, that's better than Blanchette, which was about as far as I'd got," Hermione laughed. "Far more stately. What do you say, pretty lady? Do you like the name Polgara?"

The owl hooted and rubbed her head against Hermione's cheek. "I think that's a yes. Polgara it is," Hermione agreed.

"Do you have any ideas yet, Aimée?" asked Penny. "Do you want some suggestions?"

"I don't want anything clichéd, like Mignon," said Aimée. "Besides, she's a fox, not a puppy, so I don't want a name that's too sweet."

"Well, that rules out my idea then," said Hermione. "I was going to suggest Honey or Miel because her coat is like golden honey."

"I have an idea," said Phoebe, who had been stroking the little fox. "A variation on Auntie Nonie's idea. Her fur is velvety soft. If Auntie Nonie's owl is going to be called Polgara, how about calling your fox Velvet? Isn't Velvet your favourite character in those books?"

Aimée's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. "Foxes are hunters and Velvet is also known as the Huntress. And the character of Velvet is sneaky, like a fox. She has golden blonde hair and, like Mum says, this little lady's fur is also golden. With all those correlations, I think it's the perfect name. What do you think, gorgeous? Would you like to be called Velvet?"

The little fox yipped and wagged her tail, making everyone laugh. "I think she likes it," said Aimée happily, as Velvet licked her cheek.

All too soon, the holidays were over and it was time to send Phoebe and Aimée off to Sauveterre. "Don't worry, Auntie Nonie," said Phoebe hugging her. "I'll take good care of Aimée."

"Oh, Phoebe. I know you will," said Hermione, hugging her back.

Aimée's letters from Sauveterre were a stark contrast to those from Hogwarts. Although Aimée had made friends in Hogwarts and had revelled in being mentored by Severus Snape, she had still been quite unhappy there. She did not fit in with the closed-minded British magical community, and Reuben Weasley had made her time at Hogwarts deeply unpleasant. Aimée continued to write to her friends but did not miss Hogwarts. She was extremely happy at Sauveterre, the other students in her year having immediately made her welcome. Aimée settled in very quickly in her new school, and it was soon like she had never been anywhere else.

Unfortunately, the letters from her friends at Hogwarts were not frequent, apart from Victoire and Zephyr who were enthusiastic correspondents, but Aimée had so many new friends that she did not miss Hyacinth or Anthea. They had got on well enough while Aimée was at Hogwarts but did not have much in common and, now that their lives were so far apart, the friendship soon petered off altogether. (Hermione wondered if perhaps the parents of the two Slytherin girls had encouraged them to drop their friendship with Aimée upon hearing that she was Hermione Granger's daughter. She said nothing of this suspicion to Aimée as, if she was correct, there was nothing that could be done about it.) Although Aimée did not have much in common with Zephyr either, the two girls had immediately clicked when they met on the Hogwarts Express and their close friendship overcame the differences between them. Truth be told, other than her flourishing correspondence with Zephyr and Victoire, the latter of whose letters usually had a note from Teddy at the bottom, and the occasional letter from Severus Snape, Aimée was happy to put Hogwarts completely out of her mind.

Life continued as normal for Hermione, punctuated by her own correspondence with Severus, which she was enjoying immensely. They discussed a wide and eclectic range of topics and she found his pithy comments hilarious. In May, Hermione was checking over a consignment of books that Xavier had purchased, to see what restoration was needed, when she noticed an extremely rare potions tome in amongst them. This was not the first time she had come across magical books in the course of her job and Xavier usually left it to her to sell them in the wizarding world. She normally sold such volumes to a local magical antiquarian bookstore, and occasionally to the Sauveterre school library. The owner of the magical bookshop had learned to come immediately when Hermione called him, as she always had interesting and remarkable finds for him. However, she knew that this particular book would be treasured by Severus Snape.

"Xavier, I want to save this tome for a special customer. It'll take a few days for me to contact him but I guarantee he'll want this book," she said to her boss.

"Are you sure you don't want to sell it to one of your usual customers?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "It's definitely worth saving it for him. He'll be more than willing to pay whatever we ask for that particular book," she assured him and so he agreed.

That night, Hermione wrote to Severus to tell him about the potions text, including in her letter some photographs she had taken of the tome. He wrote back immediately to say, _"Hold it for me. School finishes during the third week in June. I'll come and visit straight after."_

That was just over a month away. Hermione had expected Severus to ask her to mail the book to him and was surprised to realise how pleased she was that he would instead be coming to visit. Aimée, on hearing of the proposed visit was ecstatic.

"Do you think he'll be willing to give me some lessons while he's here, Mum? Please?" Aimée begged.

"He'll be here on holiday, baby. I'm not sure he'll want to spend it teaching," she said dubiously. On seeing Aimée's downcast face, she relented. "I'm only teasing. Of course he will! He's already said he wants to have a couple of sessions with you while he's here, _to make sure Mistress Green hasn't ruined the fine grounding in potions that I gave your daughter,_" Hermione imitated Severus and Aimée giggled appreciatively.

Both Gales were delighted when he finally arrived. He portkeyed first to Sauveterre for a meeting with Potions Mistress Green. From there, he flooed to their flat, where Hermione was waiting for him, with an impatient Aimée at her side.

"Professor!" she cried. "It's good to see you!"

"And you, Miss Gale," he said in a warm voice, smiling at the enthusiastic girl.

Severus was staying at a nearby hotel but spent the days with Hermione, who had taken a week off while he was in Montréal, and with Aimée, who was home from school for the summer. Hermione and Aimée both lit up in his presence. Aimée clearly regarded him as a father figure and Hermione, well, Hermione was falling in love with him. The only problem was that he lived in Britain, while she was in Canada. Something that seemed an insurmountable problem to Hermione, as she had no desire whatsoever to return to the country of her birth.

She watched, fascinated, as Severus tutored her daughter in potions, Aimée basking in the attention from the snarky man, who had an uncharacteristic fondness for the bright, young girl. They also showed him around the city, spending the entire week he was in Montréal in his company. He snapped up the potions tome as soon as he saw it, paying what to those who were not themselves bibliophiles would regard as an extortionate price, but which Hermione thought was very fair. Severus privately admitted to himself that he would have quite happily paid double the amount for this particular volume.

During his week in Montréal, Severus finally understood the real reason why Aimée called Penelope Clearwater Auntie. He took one look at Phoebe and, much as Hermione had done the first time she saw Phoebe as a baby, he immediately realised that Penelope's daughter was a Weasley.

"Neither girl knows who their father is?" Severus asked Penny and Hermione one evening, when the two girls were safely in bed.

Penny shook her head. "Phoebe isn't even interested. I've asked her several times if she wants to know but she has told me in no uncertain terms that she regards my fiancé as her father and she doesn't need anyone else. He's doted on her ever since she was a baby."

Severus understood why Penny had not told Percy about Phoebe when she first conceived her daughter, but he had to admit that even though Percy was still rather pompous, he was a good and caring father and would not harm Phoebe. "What about Molly and Arthur?" he asked carefully. "They'd be delighted to welcome two more granddaughters into the family."

Hermione sighed. "I know they would and I do feel guilty that we've never told them about the girls but the problem is Ron. If he ever found out that Aimée is his daughter, he'd try to take her away from me and, well, you can guess how he'd treat her. Penny can't really tell Phoebe about Molly and Arthur without me also telling Aimée. The girls know their birth fathers are brothers."

Severus had to agree with Hermione's reasoning. He did not doubt that Hermione was correct in assuming Ronald Weasley's reaction to learning about Aimée would _not_ be in her best interests. In actuality, Hermione was doing the right thing by protecting her child. No matter how much Molly and Arthur would want to know their granddaughters, he could not deny that they would also put the girls' welfare first.

On his final night in Montréal, Severus took Hermione out to dinner. Penny and her fiancé, Olivier, who was her cousin Justin's Auror partner, had decided to take both girls to a movie, to give Hermione time alone with Severus.

Severus came to collect Hermione at the apartment. She met him at the door, wearing a black dress in a soft fabric that skimmed and hugged all her curves, flaring out softly like a skater dress, to fall just above her knees. There was a sweetheart neckline, with a boat-neck, cap sleeved, sheer lace yoke over her chest¹⁶. It was simple but elegant. Her hair was in a French twist, with a few soft tendrils curling around her face, and she had diamond earrings twinkling in her ears. With the addition of a pair of strappy black heels, she looked perfect for the jazz club Severus was taking her to, and she took Severus' breath away.

"You look beautiful, Hermione," he said, offering her his arm.

"Thank you, Severus. You look very dapper yourself," she replied with a warm smile. Indeed, Severus was very smart in a muggle suit, which was of course in his trademark black. Hermione had to admit that the all-black look — even his shirt and tie were black — suited him. The suit emphasised his broad shoulders, muscular thighs and firm backside. Severus was not heavily muscled like a weight-lifter, but was in very good shape, with the lean and wiry physique of a long-distance runner.

"I didn't picture you as a jazz fan," Hermione commented, when they were seated in the restaurant section of the club.

"What did you imagine?" he asked in amusement.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "Classical for chilling out and rock for when you need to let off steam, perhaps."

"Well, you're right about the rock but I must admit I prefer jazz to classical," he admitted.

"Me too," she agreed.

They chatted easily as they ate, with the pleasant sounds of jazz music in the background. For dessert, Hermione, who adored mangoes, could not resist selecting a light mango and lemon syllabub¹⁷, while Severus chose a slice of French silk pie, made from a chocolate almost as dark as his gleaming, black eyes. Catching her eyeing his dessert, Severus silently offered her a forkful. Hermione moaned with pleasure as the rich, chocolatey flavour exploded on her tongue and Severus' eyes darkened even further at the sound.

Suddenly wanting to be closer to her, Severus put down his fork and offered Hermione his hand. "Would you like to dance?" he asked huskily.

Hermione looked into his black eyes and swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. A frisson of desire rushed through her. "I'd love to," she replied, equally huskily.

Taking his hand, Hermione let Severus guide her onto the dance floor. He took her in his arms and they swayed gently to the soulful, sultry sounds of the jazz band. _'I don't want him to let go,'_ she thought, nestling in closer and laying her head on his chest. In that moment, Hermione realised that she was deeply and irrevocably in love with Severus Snape. For a moment she panicked, as she thought of the problems inherent in a long-distance relationship, but resolutely put it out of her mind, determined just to enjoy the moment.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Severus," Hermione said softly outside the door of her apartment, when he brought her home.

"It was my pleasure, Hermione," Severus replied silkily.

Hermione looked at him uncertainly for a moment, wondering if he would kiss her. Almost unconsciously, he reached his hand up to cup her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. Unable to hold back, Hermione lunged forward and kissed him. Severus immediately deepened the kiss, plundering, devouring her mouth. Hermione kissed him back fervently, tangling her fingers in his hair as his arms slid around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. It was the feel of his arousal against her that brought her back to her senses and she reluctantly pulled away slightly.

Looking into his eyes and seeing the heat and passion as he looked back at her, Hermione threw caution to the winds. "Severus, I'm going to be blunt here. I know I'm taking a risk and I could get badly hurt but I need to tell you that I love you. I don't know if you're interested in a relationship with me, or even if we could get it to work because I really don't think I can go back to Britain again…"

Severus placed a finger across her lips, silencing her. "Typical Gryffindor. Just barge right in!" he said, kissing her again. "I love you too, Nonie Gale. I love your daughter as well and I have every intention of making this relationship work."

"But… but… how?" Hermione stammered, wide-eyed.

"Do you honestly believe, after seven years of my tutelage, that I actually _enjoy_ teaching?" he asked in amusement.

"But you went back to Hogwarts after the war!" she protested.

Severus sighed. "I nearly died at the end of the war. I wasn't capable of thinking about alternatives at that time. Besides, after all those years when I had to play a part, especially that nightmarish last year of the war, I wanted — no, I _needed_ — to spend a few years as a normal teacher, without prejudices, to make up for the past. Additionally, Minerva didn't have anyone who could take over for me. Horace Slughorn was very old and desperately wanted to return to retirement. He wouldn't have been a strong enough Head of House at that time, anyway. My Slytherins badly needed a Head of House who would stand up for them and not let everyone treat them like dirt because of what their older relatives had done. That's less important now; apart from one or two idiots like Reuben Weasley, the prejudice has finally devolved into normal House rivalry. So, I'm free to leave if I want to. And I can think of a very good reason to do so. That reason is standing right here in front of me."

Hermione leaned in and kissed him again, beaming with delight. "You have someone to replace you at Hogwarts?" she asked, hardly daring to believe her ears.

Severus laughed. "Yes, little Miss Curious, I do. One of my Slytherins has just finished an apprenticeship with Mistress Green of Sauveterre and wants to return to Britain. My meeting at Sauveterre was to offer him the job of Potions Master at Hogwarts and joint Head of House with Aurora Sinistra. Aurora doesn't want to take on the Head of House job long-term, but Minerva feels it will be good for Master Farley to have the support while he finds his feet. Dumbledore just threw me in at the deep end — not that he really had any other options, under the circumstances — and Minerva doesn't want to do that again. I'll need to spend a month or so helping him settle in and then I'm free."

Hermione lunged at Severus again, peppering his face with delighted kisses. "You're willing to move here? We can be together?" she asked ecstatically.

"Yes, and yes. Oof!" he added, as she threw her arms around him and squeezed the life out of him. "Let me breathe," he suggested, as he unwound her arms from around his neck.

"Oops," replied Hermione, quite unrepentantly. "Do you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"I'm not completely sure. I know I'd like to spend more time on research but I'm not sure I would want to do that full-time. Even I need some human interaction during the course of my working day! Between the royalties on the books I've written and the monies I've received from my patents, I don't need to decide immediately. I think there may be opportunities here in Canada that there wouldn't in Britain. I could apply my potions expertise to the muggle herbal remedy market, for example. Even using only non-magical ingredients, that option wouldn't have been available to me in Britain. There's too much separation between the magical and muggle worlds there."

Hermione nodded, understanding what he meant by having more options available to him in Canada and agreeing with it. The two stayed outside the door talking until Hermione's yawns could no longer be ignored. "Go to bed, my love," he said tenderly, cupping her cheek as he spoke. "You need your rest. You're back at work in the morning."

Bidding Severus a very reluctant farewell, Hermione entered her apartment, feeling as though she was floating on air, so giddy had Severus' kisses made her. Penny, sitting nursing a cup of tea, was overjoyed to see how happy and in love Hermione looked as she floated past, unaware of her friend sitting in the living room. Chuckling, Penny banished her cup to the kitchen sink and followed Hermione to bed.

Over the next few weeks, Polgara and the Hogwarts school owls worked very hard, taking letters back and forth between Hermione and Severus. Between helping Potions Master Farley get settled at Hogwarts and packing up his life in Britain, Severus was very busy. He finally sold his ramshackle house in Spinners' End to a property developer and packed up his life, ready to move.

Penelope and Olivier had considered living in Penny's apartment after their wedding but in the end, Penny decided that she did not want to begin her marriage living above her business. She felt she wanted a separation between her home and working lives, and so she and Phoebe would be moving into Olivier's house after the marriage in August. Penny was happy for Severus to move in with Hermione but he would need a proper potions lab and Hermione consulted with Penny as to how they could adapt the apartment to fit one in. However, before they could begin any renovations, something unexpected happened.

.o.O.o.

¹⁴ _The Belgariad_ (five books)_, The Mallorean_ (five books)_, Belgarath the Sorcerer _and_ Polgara the Sorceress_ by David and Leigh Eddings.

¹⁵ Mignon means cute, darling and is often used as a name for cute, small pets.

¹⁶ postimg dot org / image / qc4fz3tvv /

¹⁷ gracessweetlife dot com / 2010 / 06 / mango-lemon-syllabub-quick-refreshing-dessert — although I don't usually add much honey, if any, as I prefer it to be tart rather than very sweet; a touch of ginger doesn't go amiss either.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full; there are only two more chapters to go after this one, so I'm going to try and post it all this week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 15**

Hermione smiled happily when she received a letter from Severus. However, her smile quickly faded when she read its contents. It was not a happy letter from the man she loved, rather he was asking her to come back to Britain urgently.

_"Arthur Weasley has had a heart attack and it's touch and go,"_ he wrote. _"If Aimée and Phoebe are ever to meet him, this might be their only chance."_

Hermione immediately arranged for a portkey to Britain for herself, Aimée, Penny and Phoebe, since Penny had agreed to go with her, given the circumstances. It was time for Aimée and Phoebe to learn who their birth fathers were and to meet the Weasleys. The night before they left, Penny and Hermione told the two girls their stories, why they had left Britain and how it came about that they did not tell Percy and Ron about their daughters. Phoebe took the news philosophically but Aimée, who had been terrified of Ronald Weasley, was very upset.

"Why were you ever with him, Mum?" Aimée whispered. She was curled up on the couch, with Hermione's arms around her. Velvet was sitting on Aimée's lap, licking her fingers in comfort.

"Because he had been my best friend for many years and we had been to Hell and back together. Because I loved him once. Because I didn't want to believe he had changed so much. Because I had lost my parents and had no other family and was scared to lose the Weasleys as well. Because I was scared to be on my own. He was only physically violent with me one time and that was once too many. I left him immediately after that. I had just found out I was pregnant and there was no way I was going to put you at risk by staying with him," Hermione replied.

"Why did you move so far away, Auntie Nonie?" asked Phoebe.

"I'm a Muggleborn, Phoebe, while he's a Pureblood," explained Hermione, still carefully avoiding mentioning his name, even after all this time. "If he had known about Aimée, he would have claimed her just to spite me and he would have automatically been given full custody of her. Not because he would have been deemed a good father but because of his blood status. I wouldn't have been allowed to contest it, nor would I have been allowed anywhere near her unless he permitted it. I was too scared about what he might do to Aimée. I couldn't risk staying in Britain and letting him find out about her. As for why Canada? Well, I already had Canadian citizenship because my Mum was born in Canada, and from the research I did, I knew that the Canadian wizarding world isn't as hidebound and prejudiced as Britain and therefore wouldn't be inclined to hand Aimée over to a violent father solely because I'm of non-magical heritage."

Their portkey brought them to Hogwarts, where Severus was waiting to let them in the gates. Obviously, this was the wrong time to stay at the Burrow, and when Severus extended Minerva's offer to host them at Hogwarts, they had gratefully accepted, the only other alternative being a hotel. After greeting the four women, Severus ushered them to two adjacent guest suites.

Half an hour later, Hermione, Penny and Severus were in the Headmistress' office, with Minerva, Harry and Ginny. Aimée was taking the opportunity to show Phoebe around the school, grateful that there were no students there over the summer holiday.

"All right," said Hermione nervously. "Penny and I have something to tell you, Ginny and Harry, and we need you to hear us out and not lose your tempers."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "All right," said Harry slowly. "What is it?"

Hermione reached out nervously and Severus took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "Well," she said. "I think you all probably imagine Aimée's birthday is towards the end of the academic year but, actually, she was born on the eleventh of November 2000."

Harry looked puzzled by this. "So?" he asked, uncomprehendingly.

"Do the Maths, Harry," said Hermione with a roll of her eyes. "When did I leave Britain?"

Ginny gasped. Not surprisingly, she had worked it out more quickly than Harry. "Dear Merlin. She's _Ron's_ child?" she exclaimed.

"What?" Harry jumped out his seat. "How could you deprive Ron of his daughter?" he asked angrily.

Severus intervened before Hermione could. She looked as though she was about to pull her wand on Harry. "I thought you agreed not to lose your temper, Potter," he drawled with a sneer.

"Ron had a right to know he was going to be a father! How could you Hermione? I can't believe you would be so cruel!"

"Weasley had a right to know he's a father?" asked Severus incredulously. "May I remind you that he has two other daughters he's never seen, never acknowledged and never supported? Hell, he even tried to prevent George from giving their mother a job. And that's not taking into account the atrocious father he's been to his son. In what world do you think Ronald Weasley would have been a good father to Aimée? You can't honestly think he would have treated her well!"

Hermione stalked over to Harry. "Sit down, Harry," she growled.

"No, Hermione! You were wrong and nothing you can say or do will make up for the fact that Ron has missed twelve years of his daughter's life."

"Sit. Down. And shut up!" she snapped, pointing her wand at him.

"I'd do as she suggests, Potter," advised Severus.

Looking round, Harry could see that no one else in the room agreed with him. Minerva and Penny looked as angry with him as Hermione and Severus. "Ginny?" he asked, whirling around to face his wife.

Ginny shook her head. "Let's hear what Hermione has to say, Harry."

With a huff, Harry threw himself back into his chair. Hermione took a couple of deep breaths to calm down and then she spoke. "After I finished Hogwarts and moved in with Ron, he barely acknowledged my existence. He wouldn't let me unpack my books or even a photograph of my parents. Do you know how much that hurt, that he wouldn't let me put a photograph of my parents in the flat? It was all about what he wanted and nothing about my needs or desires. He went out drinking _every single night_. I begged him to stay in with me or to go out somewhere together and he always told me that I should just wait for him to come home. Half the time, when he did come home he wasn't drunk enough to pass out but he was drunk enough to be very rough with me. He treated me like shit, Harry. On the day of his birthday, I came home early. I had just discovered I was pregnant and I was planning a surprise for him. Instead, I was the one who got the surprise. Ron was in bed with Romilda. He said it was my own fault he had cheated on me, when I was the one who actually tried to make the relationship work, informed me Romilda was pregnant, said some terrible things to me, beat me up and threw me out."

Hermione conjured a vial and extracted her memory of the event. "You might want to borrow the Headmistress' pensieve and have a look at this one day, when you're excusing Ron's behaviour yet again. Perhaps it'll help you realise he's out of control and needs to learn to manage his anger before he hurts someone so badly — or even kills them! — that he ends up in Azkaban," she said, handing him the vial with her memory.

"Tell me Harry, what do you think would have happened if I had told Ron I was pregnant with his child? Do you think he would have allowed me to keep the child or would he have taken her away from me out of spite? Would he even have allowed me to see her? Would Ron have turned my child against me? Would he have beaten her up too? You saw Ron pull his wand on Aimée. He would have taken her away from me and as a Mudblood there is nothing I could have done about it. He would never have allowed me to see her. And he most definitely would have beaten her up every time he lost his temper, because he would _never_ have cared for her. If you're being honest with yourself you'd admit that. I did what I had to do in order to protect my child and I'll do it again if need be. So help me, Harry Potter, if you tell Ron that Aimée is his daughter, or try to defend him to me again, I'll never forgive you."

Hermione could see that Harry was still angry with her but she could also see the effect her words were having on him. She was right about how Ron would have reacted to learning about Aimée and everyone in that room knew it. This was the last straw for Hermione, though. Yet again, Harry had defended Ron without even listening to her. Yet again, Harry had taken Ron's side, despite his despicable and unforgiveable behaviour. Hermione was no longer interested in trying to rebuild her friendship with Harry. She had given him another chance and he had blown it. She now knew that Harry would never change and that she would never be able to trust him. She turned away from him without so much as another glance. Sitting down, she looked at Penny. "Your turn," she said.

Penny explained why she had broken up with Percy and left Britain. Again, no one in the room could argue with her reasons. They all remembered what Percy had been like during the war and, with Sophie Clearwater being a Muggleborn, they could all understand why the Clearwater family had chosen to get out of Britain while they could.

Finally, Ginny spoke up. "Hermione, Penelope, I can't deny that I'm upset you didn't tell us about Aimée and Phoebe. They're Weasleys, after all. On the other hand, I can completely understand why you didn't. I don't like it, but in either of your places, I'd probably have done the same thing."

"Thank you, Ginny," said Hermione softly.

"What will you do about the girls now?" Ginny asked.

"I don't want Ron, Romilda and Reuben to learn about Aimée. I'm happy to tell the rest of the family about her, though," replied Hermione.

"I don't have the same problem as Nonie," said Penny. "I don't think Percy would cause any trouble, so I don't mind everyone knowing about Phoebe."

Ginny nodded decisively. "Well, I suggest we start with Mum. After that, we'll work out what to say to the rest of the family, not to mention what to do about Ron."

Hermione agreed with Ginny, pointedly ignoring Harry. "When should we tell your Mum?" she asked. "Is she even at the Burrow or will she be in St Mungo's with your Dad?"

"I think she'll be at home now," said Ginny, looking at her watch. "I'll go and talk to her. There's no point in putting it off."

"Would you like Severus or myself to come with you?" asked Minerva. "To help keep Molly calm."

Ginny grinned. "I'm sure she'll explode but once she's over the initial reaction, she'll be fine. If you'd like to come, though, Minerva, I wouldn't say no. I don't think we'll need both you and Severus, but if you wouldn't mind giving me a Calming Draught to take with me, just in case?" she asked him.

Severus nodded and summoned an elf to get one out of his stores. When Harry got up to accompany Ginny and Minerva, Ginny quickly told him to stay in Hogwarts. "You won't help the situation, Harry. If you'd made even the slightest attempt to understand where Hermione was coming from, I might let you come too, but as it is, you'll probably only make things worse."

Ginny flooed away with Minerva and Hermione and Penny sat back to wait. Hermione chatted with Severus, ignoring Harry who was trying to get her attention, and Penny went to round up the two girls. She brought them to the Headmistress' office, explaining that their Auntie Ginny had gone to get their grandmother.

Aimée tentatively approached Harry, who was sitting sullenly in his chair. "Does that mean you're my uncle, Professor Potter?" she asked.

Hermione watched the conversation out of the corner of her eye, ready to jump in if Harry should say something else stupid.

Harry smiled at the young girl. "I guess it does, Aimée. Welcome to the family. You too, Phoebe," he said looking over to the older girl. "Please call me Uncle Harry."

Hermione let out a breath she did not even realise she had been holding. At least Harry wasn't taking out his grumps on the two girls. Sensing her anxiety, Severus clasped her hand reassuringly. She entwined her fingers with his and smiled at him gratefully. Aimée and Phoebe continued talking to their new uncle, as he told them all about their various uncles, aunts and cousins. Hermione, who was keeping an ear out, was grateful that Harry had enough common sense not to mention Ronald, Romilda or Reuben.

It was not long before the floo flared and Molly Weasley stepped out, followed by Ginny and Minerva. Molly glanced round the room and homed in on the woman she had once thought of as a second daughter. "Hermione!" she cried, rushing over to hug her. "We were so worried about you! Arthur and I were horrified when we heard what Ron had done and we tried to write to you to apologise but we couldn't find you. Now I know why, of course. I'll have to get used to your new name," she said, as she stepped back to look at Hermione properly. "You're looking very good. Canada seems to agree with you. I know you won't be staying, but welcome back. I hope you'll stay in touch this time, dear."

Hermione had been worried that Molly would be angry with her for disappearing and for not telling her about her granddaughter. Tears of happiness brimmed in her eyes at Molly's acceptance. Molly patted her cheek understandingly and turned to Penelope with a warm smile.

"We haven't met before but it's a pleasure to meet you now, Miss Clearwater," she said. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Penny stammered. She knew Molly's reputation of being quick-tempered and slightly judgemental and was surprised to be welcomed so easily.

With a warm smile for Penny, Molly turned to the two girls, who were standing next to Severus for reassurance. Aimée was very nervous about meeting another Weasley and her fears had spread to Phoebe, who had of course heard all about Aimée's interactions with Ron and Reuben. They both felt instinctively that Severus would protect them and had gravitated to his side when Molly exited the floo. Sensing their nervousness, he had a hand on each of their shoulders, reassuring them both.

Molly held her arms out to the two girls. "Oh, my beautiful granddaughters. I'm so pleased to meet you," she said lovingly, as she enveloped them both in a hug.

Eventually, everything calmed down. Minerva ordered tea and Molly sat down to discuss practicalities with Hermione and Penny. Aimée and Phoebe were sitting on either side of their Grandma Molly, basking in the attention and love she was showering upon them. Hermione was sitting in between Severus and Penny, while Ginny and Minerva had corralled Harry between them, ready to restrain him if he should lose his temper again.

"Arthur — that's your Grandad, dears," she said to her new granddaughters, "is still in hospital. He's supposed to be coming home later this week, if all goes well, but I think I should ask his Healer when I should tell him about you. It might be best to tell him while he's still in St Mungo's, so his Healer can monitor him. He'll love to meet you but the excitement might not be good for him just yet."

"What about the rest of the family, Molly?" asked Hermione in trepidation.

Molly smiled sadly. "Ronald, Romilda and Reuben have moved to Ireland. Ronald was let go as the Cannons' Keeper but they recommended him to the Kenmare Kestrels in Ireland as assistant coach. Apparently, they feel he's a better strategist than he is player and the Kestrels were willing to give him a chance. He came over for a couple of days when Arthur first had his heart attack but had to go back. He won't get leave again for a while."

"That was very generous of the Cannons, recommending him to the Kestrels," commented Severus in surprise.

Ginny snorted. "It was the only way they could get him to go quietly. They were desperate to get rid of him!"

"Ginny!" exclaimed Molly in disapproval.

"What? Just because I'm no longer playing professional Quidditch, that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on behind the scenes any more," she protested. "Ron's behaviour, both on and off the pitch, was appalling and they would have fired him a lot sooner if they hadn't thought he would kick up a fuss and create a scandal. When they heard the Kestrels needed a new assistant coach, the Cannons saw an opportunity and they took it."

Molly just shook her head and turned back to Hermione and Penny. "Anyway," she said, pointedly changing the subject. "Those three were the only ones you would have had to worry about. Everyone else will be pleased to see you again, Hermione, and they'll all happily welcome our new family members. I'll tell you what — if St Mungo's releases Arthur this week, we'll have everyone round for Sunday lunch and the family can meet the girls then. It's been a long time since you've had Sunday lunch at the Burrow, Hermione, and it'll be lovely to see you round the table again. The rest of you as well," she added. "The more the merrier. Minerva, Severus, I expect to see you as well."

Hermione traded a look with Penny and Severus and, with a sigh, she nodded. "Thank you, Molly. We'd all love to come. There's just one thing… do you think you could call me Nonie? I changed my name magically and I really don't recognise Hermione as my name anymore. I don't think my magic will let me."

"I'll try to remember," the older woman promised with a smile. "But it might take me a while to get used to it."

Molly spent some more time talking to the girls and getting to know them. She was horrified when she heard what Reuben had done to Aimée and about Hermione's last encounter with Ron. "I really don't know where I went wrong with that boy," she said despairingly.

"You didn't do anything wrong with him at all, Molly," said Minerva firmly. "You raised seven children and all except for Ronald have grown into remarkable adults. I should know, I was Head of House for all seven of them. You didn't treat Ronald any differently to any of the others. It comes from within him."

"The old nature versus nurture debate," said Hermione softly.

"I'm sorry?" asked Minerva.

"It's a common debate in the Muggle world. Are our personality and behaviour the result of traits we inherited or have they been shaped by our life experiences, environmental influences and learned characteristics?" Hermione explained.

"To which theory do you ascribe, Nonie?" Severus asked with interest. They had not really discussed Muggle psychology before, but he was well aware of this theory.

"I don't think it's that cut and dried, we human beings are far too complex for that. I believe there's shades of grey in between. After all, there are plenty of people out there who can be used to prove either side of the theory. Either way, however, I don't accept that it excuses our behaviour. No matter if we're good or bad, if it's inherited or acquired, ultimately, we all still have a choice in the way we behave. There comes a point when what we do, who we become, is down to ourselves," she replied. "The excuse of _being born that way_, for example, is a cop out. It's just an excuse to absolve ourselves of all responsibility for our own actions and that, to me, is unacceptable."

Molly frowned as she considered what Hermione had said, however, Severus and Minerva were nodding in agreement. As teachers who had seen very many children pass through Hogwarts, they probably had more experience with people than anyone else in that room — even Penny, as her experience was with very young children — and they could appreciate the validity of Hermione's argument.

"Well, my dears," Molly said. "It's time I headed back home. You're staying here at Hogwarts? I'll owl you about Sunday, it'll depend on when Arthur is released from St Mungo's." With a final hug all round, she disappeared through the floo.

As everyone else got up to leave the Headmistress' office, Severus spoke to Hermione and Penny. "Would you all like to come out with me for dinner this evening? Somewhere Muggle," he added hastily. "I know you won't want any rumours of your return to reach the _Daily Prophet_ before the Healers clear Molly to tell Arthur."

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Severus. Aimée and I would love to join you. Penny? What about you and Phoebe?"

"That's very kind of you to include us in your invitation, Severus. We'll be pleased to accept," Penny agreed. Although she had been quite nervous of Severus previously, during the week he had spent in Montréal, she had come to realise that there was a vast difference between the Severus she had come to know and the Professor Snape of her childhood, and she was now quite comfortable in his presence.

"Hermione… Nonie…" said Harry in anguished tones. Hermione was having none of it, though.

"No, Harry. You had your last chance and you blew it. Every time you stick up for Ronald when he's treated me like dirt, it hurts me. I can't keep letting you do that to me. I can't keep putting myself through that. No more, Harry. We'll see you at the Burrow if Arthur is released from St Mungo's — I wouldn't expect or want you to be absent from a family gathering — but I have no interest in spending time with you or in trying to rebuild our friendship. Quite frankly, as far as I'm concerned, our former friendship has been broken beyond repair," she said adamantly. "Ginny, I hope we'll get a chance to talk but I'm afraid I can't be around your husband anymore. I'm sorry if that's a problem for you."

Ginny sighed. "It's not ideal but I understand," she said sadly and, with a nod of acknowledgement and her head held high, Hermione followed the others out the office.

Severus took the four women to a lovely restaurant in Edinburgh. They all spent a very enjoyable evening away from Hogwarts, where Hermione was very uncomfortable, knowing that Harry was under the same roof. Fortunately for her, Ginny understood Hermione's feelings and she packed up her family and took them to Grimmauld Place in London for a few days. It was the summer holiday and the Potters were not obliged to stay in the castle. She used the excuse that she wanted to be near her father while he was still in hospital and Harry could not argue with that reason.

Hermione began to relax once Harry was out of the castle. She showed Aimée and Phoebe parts of Hogwarts that Aimée was unfamiliar with, having only attended that school for just under a term. Hermione had spent seven years in the castle and knew it very well. With Minerva's permission, Hermione and Penelope also showed the girls the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms, while Severus let them into the Slytherin common room, so that Aimée could show Phoebe where her dorm had been. The girls were struck by how different each common room was.

"I'd have liked to be in Ravenclaw," said Phoebe almost wistfully.

"I prefer the Slytherin common room to the Gryffindor one," said Aimée thoughtfully. "All that red is a bit much. Sorry, Mum!"

Hermione laughed. "It's all right, Aimée. You were placed in the right House for you, after all. As was I."

"I've never seen the Hufflepuff common room but from what I've heard about it, I think you'd like it too, Aimée," said Penelope. "Apparently there's lots of burnished copper and plants. I've been told it's a little like a hobbit hole. Velvet would appreciate that, no doubt¹⁸." The family pets had all been left in the care of the Clearwaters while the four women were in Britain. Neither Aimée nor Phoebe had been happy about being parted from their familiars but had accepted that it would be too complicated to bring the Fennec fox and the half-kneazle cat with them.

.o.O.o.

¹⁸ Taken from/paraphrased from _Pottermore_ and the Harry Potter wikia.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» Only one more chapter to go after this, which I hope to post later this week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 16**

A couple of days later, Hermione received a letter from Molly telling her that Arthur had been told about the girls. He had taken the news well and would be released at the weekend as planned, therefore, they were all expected at the Burrow for Sunday lunch. Now that Arthur knew the news, Penny and Hermione took the girls to explore Hogsmeade. As they walked around the village, Hermione heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Merlin's saggy pants, it's Granger! Oy, Granger!"

Hermione spun round to look in the direction the voice was coming from. Standing in the doorway of the shop that had once been Zonko's Joke Shop and was now Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was George Weasley, beaming at her in delight. He came running over and threw his arms around her, twirling her round and round until she was dizzy.

"Stop, George," she choked.

"We've missed you," he said reprovingly as he put her back on the ground. "Just because my little brother was a prat, that was no reason to cut yourself off from the rest of us, you know."

Hermione sighed. "Penny, would you mind showing the girls round by yourself? I think I need to talk to George and there's no need to spoil the girls' fun. They've been looking forward to seeing Hogsmeade."

Penny nodded. "We'll finish off back here so the girls can see the shop," she called back over her shoulder as she shepherded the girls away.

"Not here," said Hermione warningly as George, who had been looking at the girls speculatively, opened his mouth. "Do you have an office in the shop where we can talk in private?"

George nodded and led Hermione to a small flat above the shop, which had been set aside as an office and a rest area for the workers. They sat down and Hermione cast a Muffliato spell. This would fill the ears of anyone listening with a low buzzing sound. It would sound like a conversation that had been pitched too low for distinct words to be distinguished. As briefly as possible, she told George the whole, sorry tale.

"That stupid, insensate, selfish _git!_ My little brother is a moron," barked George furiously, as he paced around the staff lounge. "And my brother-in-law is no better. I don't think those two will ever grow up! Just wait until I get my hands on Ron!"

"NO!" screamed Hermione. "George, I appreciate the support but I don't want Ron to know Aimée is his daughter. I don't want him to think he has a claim on her. I don't want him anywhere near her."

George stopped pacing and looked at Hermione consideringly. "You have a good point. All right, I won't say anything to him," he said, hugging her. Pulling back slightly, he looked into Hermione's eyes. "Nonie…" he said tentatively, "has anyone told you about Pansy?"

"Pansy Parkinson? No, what's she got to do with this mess?" asked Hermione, confusion in her face.

"With this mess? Nothing. With Ron? That's a whole other story," George replied ruefully.

"Tell me," said Hermione, with a sinking feeling.

George sighed. "Ron got her drunk and drugged her. He then slept with her and didn't bother with any kind of contraception. Pansy didn't remember much about that night, until she realised she was pregnant. She says she was a bit bruised up the next morning but she hadn't put two and two together at that point because she was still a bit fuzzy-headed. Severus used Legilimency to try and ascertain what had happened. Her memory was unclear but he looked back to the beginning of the evening, before Ron started plying her with drinks, and he saw Ron trying to chat her up. Severus confronted Ron, who admitted what he'd done. The git was even proud of it! Ron has refused to acknowledge the children — twin girls — and hasn't given Pansy as much as a knut in child support. Her parents disowned her and kicked her out. I gave her a job in the shop — she helps me with the brewing — and I let her live rent-free in the flat above the Diagon Alley shop. Ron had the audacity to start a screaming match with me in the middle of Diagon Alley over it. He yelled out that she was a whore and should pick up tricks if she wants a job. I beat him black and blue for that. He's the only man Pansy has ever been with, Nonie, and that only because he drugged her. It's not my responsibility to pick up after Ron's messes but he's not the one who was in a mess because of this. I know you and Pansy didn't get on well at school but I had to help her." George was pleading with Hermione to understand. Saying that she and Pansy had not got on at school was a massive understatement. They had hated each other.

Hermione took a couple of deep breaths. As much as she had disliked Pansy in the past, Hermione could not blame her for what had happened. "You're a good man, George Weasley," Hermione said at last. "I promise if I see Pansy, I'll be civil. The only one at fault was Ron."

"Thank you," said George gratefully. "Pansy and the girls will probably be at lunch on Sunday, especially as Ron and his family won't be there. The rest of us have taken her in as an honorary Weasley but Mum can't have her at the Burrow when Ron's around."

Hermione nodded. "Don't worry. I won't give her a hard time."

"Good!" he exclaimed, his usual exuberance back in his voice. "Now, when do I get to meet my nieces? I have to teach them how to prank!"

Hermione groaned theatrically. This was just the reaction George had been hoping for and he laughed delightedly. Hermione could not maintain her faux disapproval and joined in the laughter, thrilled that he had accepted the girls so easily.

"George," she said, hesitantly. "Penny has arranged to meet with Percy so she can tell him about Phoebe but what about the rest of the family? Not the children, perhaps, but Bill, Fleur and Charlie? Shouldn't we tell them before Sunday — will Charlie be there or is he at the dragon reserve in Romania? — so there's no extreme reactions in front of the girls. If anyone else reacts the way Harry did, I don't want the girls around at the time."

"Angie too," George said absently, as he considered Hermione's suggestion.

"Angie? Angelina Johnson?" Hermione asked in bewilderment.

"Yes, she's my wife," replied George.

"Congratulations! She's far too good for you, you know?" Hermione teased.

"I know," answered George seriously. "Now, onto your question. I'll tell Angie, Bill and Fleur tonight. I think you're right that they should know in advance. As far as I know, Charlie won't be there on Sunday, so he can wait for a letter. He won't get upset, though. If it doesn't have scales and breathe fire, he's not much interested."

Hermione laughed, knowing how accurate a description of the second oldest Weasley son that was. "Thank you for offering to tell everyone, George," she said gratefully. "I'd ask Ginny but given Harry's attitude, I don't want to cause trouble for her."

"Harry just doesn't think before he speaks or acts but he's not a bad guy. He's probably already regretting letting the words spill out without routing them via his brain first," George commented and Hermione laughed again.

"That's a very good description!" she said. "But Harry keeps on doing that to me. I've given him so many chances and I just can't carry on that way."

George nodded. "Fair enough," he agreed amiably. "Now, my nieces?"

As Hermione followed George down the stairs, she suddenly stopped halfway with an exclamation. George turned to her in concern. "What's wrong, Nonie?"

"Sweet Nimue," she whispered. "It was because of me."

"What? What was because of you?" asked George uncomprehendingly.

"Pansy! Ron went after her because he knew she was my biggest nemesis in school, after Draco Malfoy, of course! He thought that choosing Pansy would hurt me more than anyone else he might have bedded. He targeted her in some kind of sick revenge against me and didn't care who else he hurt."

George went pale. He had not put two and two together but now that Hermione had done so for him, he realised that she was probably right. "Merciful Merlin!" he whispered in return.

"I don't know if it'll make it better or worse for Pansy to know that but I ought to apologise to her. It's my fault, George!"

"No, it's not!" George snapped at Hermione, who was sounding hysterical. "Ron may have chosen to target Pansy because of you but it's not your fault. Did you know he would do that? Did you tell him to rape her, because that's what it was? Believe me, if Pansy had thought that she had the slightest chance of winning as a disowned, single mother, she'd have pressed charges against him for rape. Would you have approved if you had known? Encouraged him? Of course not! It's Ron's fault, Nonie, and no one else's. Do _not_ blame yourself for this!"

Hermione wrapped her arms around George's waist, leaning into him for comfort as she tried to pull herself together. "All right. I'll try not to," she agreed in a small voice.

George gave Hermione a brief hug and then tugged her hand and pulled her back down the stairs after him. By this time, Penny and the girls were in the shop too. George pasted a great, big smile on his face and sneaked up behind the two girls, who were looking at some of the goods on the shelves, sticking his head in between them. "Boo!" he whispered in their ears, laughing as they jumped in shock.

Hermione sighed in fake exasperation. "Girls, this is your Uncle George," she announced. "He's a bit of a prankster so you better watch out because his favourite victims are his family."

"Ssh! You're giving away all my secrets, Granger!" he said in a stage-whisper.

"Gale," she corrected. "Or better yet, Nonie."

"All right, Nonie!" he agreed exaggeratedly, as though it was a great imposition, beaming as he heard the two girls giggle in response.

"Now, let me show my nieces around the shop. You two go away," he said flapping his hands at Hermione and Penny in a shooing motion.

"Just don't corrupt my daughter, George Weasley!" warned Hermione.

"Would I do a thing like that?" he asked angelically.

"Yes!" came the uncompromising answer.

"You know me too well," he said with a wink.

Placing an arm around each girl's shoulder, he steered them away from their mothers. "Now, my lovely, young nieces, let's see what interests you. You get everything free today, just don't tell your Mums!" he said conspiratorially.

Hermione, who had heard every word, smiled ruefully, pleased to see them so charmed by their uncle. She and Penny stayed out the way as he showed them round the shop and loaded them with goodies. When George stopped by the racks of edible jokes, like the Canary Creams and the Candy Explosions, Aimée paled. "I don't want any of those," she said in a small voice.

George, knowing how badly Aimée had been injured when Reuben sabotaged her cauldron, understood immediately why she was upset. Plucking up a tube of the sweets, he showed them to Aimée. "Look at the instructions, Aimée," he said reassuringly. "They're perfectly safe if you follow the instructions. I don't want you to think I make things that are dangerous. It's not the Candy Explosions that are dangerous, it's the person using them who is. They're like anything — even your wand — they're fine as long as you use them responsibly. I won't force you to take them but I don't want you to be scared of the things I make."

As Aimée nodded hesitantly, Hermione came up behind her. "Why don't we take a tube and we can test them in Severus' lab, if he'll let us? If you try them in test conditions, following the instructions, you can see for yourself if they're dangerous or not. You won't need to worry about any dangerous explosions — Severus will make absolutely certain nothing bad will happen."

Aimée thought for a moment. She trusted Severus completely, most especially his skill in a potions lab, and it was silly to be scared of a few sweets. "All right," she agreed, and George let out a breath he did not realise he had been holding.

"Thank you," he mouthed at Hermione.

When the laden girls arrived back at the castle, they met Severus in the entryway. Aimée bounded over to him. "Severus, will you help us?" she asked excitedly.

"With what?" he demanded, with a smile in his eyes. "I'm a Slytherin. We don't agree to do anything before we know what we're agreeing to," he continued with a wink.

"I want to test the Candy Explosions," she replied quietly. "Uncle George offered me a tube but I didn't want to take them. Mum said we could test them in lab conditions, adhering to the instructions, so I can see for myself that they're safe."

Severus' eyes met Hermione's with understanding. "Of course," he replied. "Would you like to do it now?"

"Yes, please!" Aimée replied exuberantly.

Hermione relieved Aimée of her bags. "Why don't I take these to our rooms and then come and join you in the dungeons?" she suggested.

"Phoebe, do you want to come too?" asked Aimée, grabbing her cousin by the hand and towing her along behind her.

"Apparently so," she drawled dryly, much to Severus' appreciative amusement.

Penny needed to get ready for her meeting with Percy, so she gladly left the girls with Hermione and Severus. Aimée was much happier after seeing what the Candy Explosions were really meant to do and spent the afternoon chatting to Severus about potions. He even allowed her to assist him with brewing some for the school infirmary.

Phoebe left the two enthusiastic potioneers to it and made her way back to the guest rooms she was sharing with her mother, where she happily settled down with a book until Penny returned. By this time, Aimée and Hermione had emerged from the dungeons and were sitting with Phoebe as they all waited.

"Well? How did it go?" Phoebe cried when Penny walked in.

Penny sat down and gave a relieved smile. "Very well," she replied. "Percy was shocked, of course, but he understood. He's not going to try and claim you — he even agreed to let Olivier adopt you — but he would still like to be a part of your life in some way, if you'll let him. He's going to tell his wife and daughters about you tonight — you have two younger sisters, called Molly and Lucy — and then he'd like us to come over and meet his family tomorrow, before we meet the rest of the family the day after."

Phoebe looked pleased. She had been scared that Percy would turn out to be a nasty piece of work like Ronald and she was happy he wanted to get to know her. Although she regarded Olivier as her father, it would be nice to have her birth father and her half sisters in her life, even if after she returned to Canada, it would only be through the exchange of letters.

Phoebe and Penny's day spent with Percy's family on Saturday had gone well. Percy was disappointed that he had missed so many years of his daughter's life but she was clearly loved and happy, and that was the most important thing. He knew the Clearwaters had been in danger during the war because of Sophie's blood status and he also knew that his own behaviour had not inspired confidence in him at that time. Penny had been right not to place her trust in Percy and he did not blame her for having run from the war. His poor behaviour during those dark times was something he had acknowledged long ago and which he still deeply regretted. There had been no rivalry that day between Penny and his wife, Audrey, since Penny had made it clear almost as soon as she arrived that she was engaged and very much in love with her fiancé. His two daughters with Audrey had been delighted to have an older half-sister and, not really understanding the history, regarded her as some sort of exotic creature who was there to play with and indulge them.

George had owled Hermione to assure her that Angie, Bill and Fleur were looking forward to seeing her again and to meeting Penny and the girls. Of course, Penny and Angelina had been in Hogwarts at the same time as each other but being in different years and in different Houses, they had never actually interacted. Arthur, according to both George and Molly, was extremely excited and could not wait for Sunday.

Finally Sunday arrived and the family nervously flooed to the Burrow from Minerva's office. Minerva and Severus were in a meeting and would follow on later.

"Welcome, my dears," said Molly, who had been impatiently waiting by the fireplace for their arrival.

Hermione, being the only one of the Canadians who was familiar with the Burrow and who knew all the Weasleys stepped forward, as their unofficial spokesperson. "It's good to be back here in the Burrow, Molly. Thank you for inviting us all."

"Arthur is in the living room and everyone else is outside," Molly said. "You know your way, don't you, Nonie?"

"Of course," she replied with a smile, leading the others away from the floo.

"Arthur!" she cried warmly, as she caught sight of the Weasley patriarch ensconced in a comfortable armchair. She rushed over to him and gave the kindly man one of her patented bear-hugs.

"It's good to see you again. We've missed you," he said, patting Hermione's back as she hugged him.

Hermione stepped back with teary eyes and a wide smile. "I've missed you, too," she assured him. "Arthur, these are your granddaughters, Aimée and Phoebe; and Phoebe's mother, Penny."

"It's very good to meet you all," he replied with an even bigger smile than Hermione's. "Penny, I'd be delighted to talk to you and get to know you later, but do you mind if I talk to my granddaughters first? I'm not supposed to have too many people around me at once."

Penny laughed. "That's quite all right, Mr Weasley. I know your granddaughters are very excited to meet their Grandad, so I'll leave you all to it."

Arthur gestured to the couch next to him and the girls bounded over to sit down. Hermione pointed towards the kitchen. "You can get out into the back garden through there. That's where we'll be," she told the girls, before leading Penny away.

As she walked out into the garden, she heard a scream. "Madame Gale! Où est Aimée? Where's Aimée?" Victoire cried as she came running over, with Teddy Lupin in tow, and crashed into Hermione for a hug.

"Victoire! Se comporter! Behave yourself!" chided her mother.

"It's quite all right, Fleur. I'm pleased she's excited to see her cousin. It's good to see you again, Fleur."

"You too, 'Ermione," the lovely Frenchwoman replied, giving Hermione a hug. "No, it is not 'Ermione anymore, n'est-ce pas? It is Nonie now, oui?"

"Yes, that's right, Fleur. Thank you for remembering. And this is Penelope Clearwater," Hermione introduced them. "Penny, this is Fleur Weasley. Her husband is Bill, the eldest Weasley brother. These two are Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire, and Teddy Lupin. You may remember Professor Lupin, who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts in your seventh year? Teddy is his son. I don't know if you knew his mother, Tonks? She was a Hufflepuff a few years ahead of you. She was a Metamorphmagus, who loved changing her hair colour, so she would have been quite distinctive."

Penny laughed. "Yes, I remember her. How could I not? She hexed one of the most arrogant and annoying people I've ever met for calling her by her first name."

Hermione laughed too. "That's her! She _hated_ her name. I assume you've been told that about her, Teddy?" she asked, looking at the boy, who nodded his head vigorously.

"That's always one of the first things anyone ever says about her," he explained. "Uncle Harry says when he was growing up, the first thing people always said to him when they met him was that he looked just like his father but he had his mother's eyes. It's kind of like that."

"Yes, it is," replied Hermione understandingly. "Well, I only knew her for a couple of years but I'll be glad to tell you some other stories about her."

"Thank you," he beamed at her.

Victoire had stood politely waiting while Hermione greeted her mother but her patience had run out. Tugging Hermione's arm, she repeated her question. "Where is Aimée, please?"

"Aimée and Phoebe are talking to your Grandad. Wait a little longer, Victoire. Your Grandad wants to meet his new granddaughters. You'll see them when they come and join us. Grandma Molly probably won't let them stay with your Grandad for too long; he shouldn't get too excited right now," said Hermione.

Victoire nodded understandingly. "All right, I'll wait until they're finished talking to Grandad but then Aimée is mine!" she stated imperiously, before running off with Teddy again.

Hermione chuckled and looked around at the rest of the Weasleys. Bill was chasing after Victoire and Teddy, who were running away from him, laughing. Bill's hair was bright blue, courtesy of the mischievous pair. George was roaring with laughter at the sight of his brother. Percy and a woman who Hermione assumed was Audrey had taken Penelope off to introduce them to everyone else. Ginny and Angelina were supervising several children on broomsticks, while several others were running around, playing on the ground.

Hermione went over to join everyone and was greeted warmly by all the Weasleys of her generation, although she was only politely civil to Harry. He looked crestfallen but Ginny, who had come down to greet Hermione, thumped his arm and he said nothing. Hermione sat talking to Bill and Fleur in French, to the surprise of those Weasleys in hearing distance, who had not known she was fluent in that language.

When Aimée and Phoebe came to join them, Victoire pounced on them both with a squeal. It did not matter to her that she had never met Phoebe before. It was enough for Victoire to know that Aimée was very close to Phoebe and that the other girl also spoke French. They were soon sitting on a blanket, chattering away in that language, with Victoire's little sister, Dominique, beside them, while Teddy grabbed a broom and joined his adoptive cousins in the air.

As Hermione talked to Bill and Fleur a shadow came over her. Shielding her eyes against the bright sun with her hand, she looked up to see Pansy Parkinson standing next to her, looking awkward. "Hello, Pansy," she said neutrally.

"Hello, Granger," replied Pansy. "Sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! It was automatic to call you that," she added hastily, blushing.

At that, Hermione relaxed and laughed. "It's all right, Pansy. I understand. Why don't we start over? Call me Nonie, please."

Pansy nodded but kept standing there uncomfortably. Hermione sighed inwardly. "I owe you an apology, Pansy. George says it's not my fault — and he's right — but I still need to apologise. Ronald, what he did to you... I think he may have targeted you because you and I had such an antagonistic relationship when we were at school. He probably thought that by choosing you specifically, it would hurt me most. Of course, Ron being Ron, he didn't actually think it through. If he had, he'd have remembered I had left a long time previously and his tiny, little brain might have realised that I no longer cared what he did or who he did it with. I'm just sorry that he used you in some kind of petty and obscure revenge against me."

Hermione braced herself for the negative reaction she was expecting and was surprised to hear Pansy laugh. "Are you sure his brain is the only thing that's tiny?" Pansy snorted. "I may not remember much about that night but I do know I wasn't sore the morning after, even though I had been a virgin, and the bruises on my body suggested that he wasn't particularly gentle."

Pansy grinned conspiratorially and Hermione burst into peals of laughter. "You may be right. Perhaps his behaviour was to compensate for him being lacking in other areas!" With that, the tension between them was broken. Fleur was also laughing, while Bill also had a twinkle in his eyes, although he had initially squirmed at the direction the conversation was heading.

"I assume your daughters are the two black-haired girls?" Hermione asked Pansy. "They look very like you. Not like Ron at all."

"Your daughter is the spitting image of you, too," replied Pansy.

Hermione looked shamefaced. "I kept wishing throughout the pregnancy that Aimée would be like me and not like her father. I don't know if magic responded to something like that or if she just naturally looks like me, though."

Pansy looked startled. "I was exactly the same!" she exclaimed.

"Do you think…?" asked Hermione thoughtfully.

Pansy shook her head. "I have no idea and I don't think I want to find out."

"No," Hermione agreed. "That's a can of worms I'd really rather not open."

"What?" exclaimed Pansy, startled, and Hermione chuckled.

"Sorry, Muggle expression. It's like not stirring up a hornet's nest — another Muggle expression — or poking a dragon would be a good magical equivalent, I suppose. In other words, it's something that's not advisable to do," Hermione explained. "What are your daughters called?"

"Gaia and Freya. George told me that he and Fred were named after Molly's late twin brothers, Gideon and Fabian. They were G and F, then the next generation of twins, Fred and George, were F and G, so I thought that I should follow the family tradition and give my twins names with those initials, only I reversed it once more, so it's G and F again."

"I'm sure the Weasleys all appreciated that, Molly and George especially," said Hermione warmly. "That was a lovely choice of names."

"Thank you," said Pansy in surprise. She was still getting used to being on civil terms with the former Gryffindor Princess and the praise was unexpected.

"Mum?" asked one of the twins, who had both come over to meet their sister's mother. "Is everything all right?" She had clearly picked up on the awkwardness between Hermione and Pansy and was understandably wary, given the reactions she often received from the wizarding public for being the illegitimate daughter of an unwed mother.

"Gaia, Freya, I think it's no secret that your Mum and I didn't get on well when we were at Hogwarts. She was a Slytherin, I was a Gryffindor, and those two Houses didn't mix well in our time. I'm a Muggleborn and she's a Pureblood who had been brought up to believe she was better than me just because of the circumstances of her birth. I don't judge her for what she did as a child, though. People usually believe as children what they're taught to believe by their parents. It's only as we grow older and have more education and life experience, that they begin to question what they've been taught and form their own opinions. What they do and believe as children is less important than what they become and what they believe as adults. I'm not perfect myself and never was, but your Mum was given bad values as a child. Despite that, she's become a good person and is nothing like she was when we were in Hogwarts. She's overcome her bad upbringing and you can be very proud of her. As for any awkwardness between your Mum and myself, this is the first time we've seen each other since we were eighteen and we're only just beginning to make friends. That takes a while; friendships don't always form instantaneously, especially when you have to try and forget history in order start out all over again from the beginning."

"Thank you, Nonie," said Pansy hoarsely, tears glimmering in her eyes. Hermione had been very generous in her explanation to the two girls. Pansy had been absolutely vile to Hermione during their Hogwarts days.

At that point Molly called everyone to come and eat. Severus and Minerva had finally arrived, Hermione was glad to see, and she made her way to Severus' side. During lunch, Pansy and Hermione continued to make cautious conversation.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Nonie?" asked Pansy.

Hermione peeked up at Severus through her eyelashes and saw him smile and nod. "Yes," Hermione replied. "Severus and I are in a relationship."

"It looks like you've dropped quite a bombshell, Nonie," Severus drawled in amusement, at the sudden, shocked silence. "I don't think I've ever heard such quiet at the Weasley table."

That broke the spell and George let out a bark of laughter. "You may be right, Severus," he agreed. "I'll have to see what I can do to liven things up again," he added with a wink.

Angelina gave him a swat to the back of his head. "Not now, George. I want to hear more about Nonie and Severus!" she added with a wicked grin.

"How is it going to work out? Will you be coming back to Britain?" asked Ginny in excitement.

Hermione shook her head. "No, Severus is moving to Canada."

After a moment, Severus spoke again. "You've actually managed to stun the entire Weasley family twice in the space of just a couple of minutes, my dear. I'm impressed."

"But… But…" spluttered Ginny.

"Surely you don't think I ever actually _enjoyed_ teaching, Ginevra?" asked Severus wryly, repeating the words he had spoken to Hermione back in Montréal, and Ginny giggled.

"Well, no. But I never imagined you leaving Hogwarts either," she replied.

"I didn't feel I could leave for a long time. At first, the Dark Lord and Dumbledore both required my presence at Hogwarts and, then, after the war, there was no one else I could trust my Slytherins to. They needed me at that time: a Head of House who had been on the Light side but who had also seen and knew what had happened on the Dark side, who would understand their backgrounds and who would stand up for them."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "And now?" she asked.

"Now, the war has been over for fifteen years and I finally have a replacement in whose hands I'm happy to leave my Slytherins. He is a good Potions Master and has far more patience than I. He was also a responsible prefect and will take good care of his House."

"I'll miss you, Severus," said Pansy sadly. "Oh, don't worry, Nonie. There's never been anything between us, but Severus has been very supportive towards me. I wasn't exactly the most popular person in the wizarding world immediately after the war — no one ever stopped to think that I was simply scared witless at the Final Battle — and, after everything that happened with Ron, I'm somewhat of a pariah. I'm a disgrace because I'm a single mother. It's helped that the Weasleys have been so good to me but I don't think I could have managed at the beginning without Severus."

George coughed. "About that," he said. "We opened a few stores in the US and they're doing very well. I was thinking of expanding into Canada. Pansy, I offered you the chance to manage one of the US stores but you didn't want to move where you wouldn't know anyone. What about Canada? Nonie, Penny and Severus will all be there. I'm not chasing you away but it might be good for you to get a fresh start. Perhaps Nonie and Penny can introduce you to some fit bloke."

Hermione and Penny exchanged a look and both burst into giggles. "It's taken us all this time to find fit blokes ourselves, so I'm not sure how much help we'd be."

"Marc Bellamy?" Penny asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," replied Hermione consideringly. "No reason why we can't introduce them, though. Pansy," she continued, turning to the dark-haired girl, "if you want to move to Canada, we'd welcome you and help you. You certainly won't need to worry about being alone. I chose Canada because my mother was born there and I already had Canadian citizenship — although, you won't need to worry about that. The Ministry of Magic can grant you citizenship and their process is much quicker and easier than that of the non-magical authorities. Despite that, though, when I arrived in Canada, I was alone. I had no family left. First my employer's family practically adopted me and then, when I met Penny again, the Clearwaters also took me in as one of their own. I know how you must feel, I miss my parents every day, but I certainly don't feel alone anymore. I have a large honorary family and I'm sure they'd all welcome you, too."

"I don't know," said Pansy hesitantly.

"You don't need to decide now," Hermione reassured her, seeing the other woman was somewhat overwhelmed. "Just know that you'd be made welcome if you do decide to come."

"Thank you," said Pansy with a grateful nod. "I'll keep that in mind."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

**Author's Notes:**

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» A longer chapter than any of the others in this story but I didn't really want to split this final chapter. Thank you for following Nonie (Hermione), Aimée and Severus et al on this journey.

» The rating has changed because of this last chapter; even though it's not particularly explicit, I wanted to be careful.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

**CHAPTER 17**

Penny and Hermione stayed in Britain for another week after that Sunday lunch before returning to Canada. Three days after their return, Severus arrived. Penny and Phoebe had moved in with Olivier by this time and Hermione nervously welcomed Severus into the flat. "I've cleared space for you in my room," she said. "Unless you want Penny's room?"

"No, witch, I do _not_ want Penny's room," he said silkily, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Oh. Good," she replied skittishly.

Severus walked over to Hermione and took her in his arms. "I know you're nervous — I am too. I've never lived intimately with anyone before, but I'm looking forward to it. I want to go to sleep at night holding you in my arms and wake up in the morning with you curled up against me. I want to watch you grow old and I want to see your daughter grow into the stunning woman I'm sure she'll become. She's too like her mother to be anything else. Relationships aren't easy, they require hard work, but unlike your Ex, I'm willing to make that effort." Severus reached up with one hand to cup her cheek. "I've fallen in love with you, Nonie Gale, and I can't imagine anything better than spending the rest of my life with you."

Hermione had tears brimming in her eyes. "I didn't think you would be the type for romantic speeches," she whispered. "But I'm so glad to have been surprised. I love you too, Severus Snape. I promise also to make the effort to make our relationship work, Severus. I know there will be times when we'll disagree, even fight, but I'm willing to meet you half way. Ronald expected me to accede to everything he wanted but I know you won't be like that. Sometimes I'll concede to you, sometimes you'll concede to me, and other times we'll both give a little to meet in the middle in order to come to a compromise that suits us both. As long as it's not just one of us making all the concessions, we'll be fine."

"Yes, we will be," he said warmly, smiling into her eyes.

With that, Hermione relaxed and helped Severus begin his unpacking and settle in. His potions equipment would have to wait until his lab would be ready and it would take a while to work out where to put all of his books, but he unpacked enough to feel at home.

That night, two very apprehensive people got into bed next to each other. Hermione usually wore cotton shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt to bed. She wanted to wear something more glamorous for Severus but did not feel comfortable in anything too overtly sexy, like some of the negligées Penny had started wearing when she had begun sleeping with Olivier. Penny had helped her find a silk, lace-trimmed, short babydoll chemise, with matching, boyshort knickers, all the while jokingly cringing over helping Hermione find "lingerie to attract _Professor Snape!_" Liking the feel of the babydoll and boyshorts, which were similar enough in cut to her usual nightwear for her to feel comfortable in them, Hermione had invested in a few such sets of nightwear, and the intense and heated look Severus directed her way when he saw her wearing these made her glad she had done so.

Hermione inched over towards Severus, who put his arm around her and pulled her up close against him. Running his hands down her arm and across her back, he whispered in her ear. "You're beautiful. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, but I feel truly blessed."

Hermione moaned at his voice whispering sexily in her ear and reached up to kiss him. Severus responded with the most passionate, heated kiss she had ever experienced and she moaned again. At that, his control snapped and he reached down to pull the babydoll over her head and throw it down on the floor. Moments later, the knickers followed suit. Severus explored Hermione's body thoroughly, caressing, kissing and nibbling her soft, silky skin, until Hermione felt she was on fire. When his mouth finally latched onto her breast, her body arched off the bed.

"Severus!" she screamed. "More, please more," she begged. His hand slid down her body to her hot, wet centre and she groaned when she felt a finger enter her. "Now, Severus. I need you inside me now."

Only too happy to oblige, he slid over the fevered witch and plunged inside. "So tight," he groaned as he felt her inner muscles clench around him. A few thrusts were all he needed before Hermione screamed out her ecstasy and, as her inner sheath pulsed around him, he too lost control and, with a yell, he exploded within her.

Severus rolled off Hermione and pulled the sated witch into his side. "I'm glad Penny and Olivier insisted on Aimée staying with them tonight," Hermione whispered. "I don't think we remembered the silencing charms."

"At least we remembered the contraceptive charm," he replied wryly.

Hermione looked at Severus curiously. "Do you want children?"

"I would love to have a child with you, Nonie, but not just yet. We need to spend some time with each other first," he explained.

Hermione agreed. "I'm not sure whether Aimée would be happy or embarrassed to have a baby brother or sister," she laughed.

"She is all right with you and I being together, isn't she?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Don't worry about that, Severus. Didn't you notice when we were in Britain that any time she was unsure or nervous, she immediately made her way to your side? You're her mentor and her protector. She adores you and she already regards you as a father," Hermione assured him. "I know we might have some teething problems as we all adjust but don't doubt that she's very happy about our relationship."

Reassured, Severus pressed a kiss to her head, then closed his eyes and fell asleep, Hermione following suit not long after. Early the next morning, she was woken by Severus getting busy under the covers. "Last night, we were both desperate for completion but today, I fully intend to take my time and get to know every inch of your delectable body," he purred.

An hour later, Hermione was lying bonelessly in bed. Severus had lived up to his promise and had taken his time exploring her body thoroughly. He had brought her to the brink of orgasm several times before finally letting her fall over the edge.

Where Hermione was languid and ready to fall asleep again, Severus was energised. "Come on, up you get!" he encouraged her. "Aimée will be back soon and you don't want her to find us still in bed, do you?" He flung the covers off her and, taking her hands, pulled Hermione up into a sitting position.

"Go and shower while I start making breakfast. For some reason, I'm absolutely famished," he said, sending a naughty look in her direction.

Hermione stumbled into the shower and let the jets wake her up. By the time she joined Severus in the kitchen, he was setting out a hearty breakfast. Hermione sat down at the table and greedily tucked in. "This is wonderful, Severus."

Severus smiled into her eyes. "I'm a Potions Master, Nonie. Cooking is very similar to brewing potions."

"I know," she replied, with a matching smile. "But that doesn't mean I can't compliment your cooking."

They were sitting staring into each others' eyes, food cooling unnoticed in front of them, when Aimée came bouncing in, Velvet yipping at her heels. "Hey, no making goo-goo eyes at each other in front of the children!" she joked, snagging a piece of toast and heading off to her bedroom. Brought back to themselves, Hermione and Severus continued eating.

"What are your plans, Severus?" Hermione asked in curiosity.

"Well, I hold the patents on several potions, which bring in a nice income for me. I also have most of my savings from my Hogwarts salary, since I had very little expenses during the school year. Since the war, I have also had time to write a number of books, not just the family potions book that I know you own, and the royalties for these are very good. I'm not hurting for money, so I can contribute to the household expenses."

Hermione blushed. "That wasn't what I meant," she said. "Penny was talking about remodelling a bit to install a potions lab in her old room if you want? Or will you be opening your own business and keep your lab there?"

It was Severus' turn to blush. "I'm sorry, that was ungracious of me, wasn't it? This situation is as new for me as it is for you and I'm feeling a bit discomposed."

Hermione took his hand. "It's all right, Severus. It'll take time for you to settle in. I know that, and so does Aimée."

"Thank you," he said warmly. "I think what I'd like to do is open my own business where I can research and also supply the more complicated brews that the regular apothecary shops don't provide. These would probably be supplied to hospitals in the main but, in general, the apothecary shops only sell things like Calming Draughts, Pepper-Up and mild Pain Relievers — basic potions really — and they can be a bit variable in reliability, depending on the brewer. Not all apothecaries use Potions Masters to brew their supplies. So there's a definite market for commercially made potions. I'm also interested in the muggle natural health market. Obviously, I can't use magical ingredients but I think I can tap into that market. At first, I'll only need a personal lab but once I start getting contracts, I'll need a proper business premises with commercial labs designed for both specialist and mass market brewing. I've already started reaching out to the magical hospitals here in Canada and I hope that my reputation will have preceded me. The local apothecary shop here in Montréal was definitely interested in my supplying him when I was last here. The apothecary doesn't have brewing skills— he mainly supplies ingredients — and he would be grateful to have a trustworthy brewer, as he said he'd been having problems with quality from his regular potions supplier. I don't think I want to brew in this apartment, though. It would be too hard to set up proper safety wards and I don't want to put you or Aimée at risk."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "There's a basement below the child care centre, which Penny doesn't really use. She might be able to convert some of the space into a lab, if you prefer that."

Severus looked interested. "That would be good," he said. "Basements tend to be heavily reinforced. It could be more easily adapted into a safe lab than a room in this apartment could."

"We'll talk to Penny then," said Hermione decisively.

And so they did. Penny was happy to agree to the conversion, especially as Severus insisted on contributing to the costs. Eventually, they agreed that Penny would be responsible for any building work, such as fitting in proper air vents and adding plumbing, so Severus would have a sink with a running water supply, while Severus would be responsible for fitting out the lab. Severus also took the opportunity to build some greenhouses on the rooftop patio, so that he could grow his own ingredients for his personal use and his research. Penny contracted a magical builder and the work was soon done. Severus began brewing for the magical hospitals and some apothecaries, using his spare time for research and development. He soon built up enough of a clientele that he was ready to start a more commercial operation for brewing and quickly sourced appropriate premises in the magical district, although he intended to maintain the lab below the child care centre as well; he could not conceive of not having a lab in his home.

Severus contacted Sauveterre and asked Potions Mistress Green for her recommendations as to former pupils who might be interested in a commercial apprenticeship. His terms were quite generous. Unlike normal apprenticeship terms, he would not require the apprentices to pay him to teach them and would even pay them a salary for their commercial brewing for his business. However, the commercial brewing would not be sufficient for them to attain a Mastery. For that, they would need to show skill with advanced potions, rather than the mass-produced, everyday potions that his business would mostly be producing, and they would also need to create their own original potions. Severus promised his apprentices that he would give them all the support, advice and training they would need in attaining their Mastery, and would also allow them to use his lab facilities for their personal brewing, but they would have to fund the research and brewing required for their Mastery themselves. As they would in any case need to fund their own research and brewing even in a more traditional apprenticeship, all-in-all, it was an attractive offer and he soon had a team of apprentices working for him. He was not convinced that they would all progress beyond journeyman level but he had no doubts that they would all attain at least that. At journeyman level, they would be competent brewers, which would be sufficient for them to make a career as such, brewing either for him or else for an apothecary shop or a hospital potions department.

.o.O.o.

Two months after Severus arrived in Canada, Hermione received a letter from George:

_My idiot little brother got in a punch-up with a reporter in front of a group of fans, most of whom were children and were scared out their wits. The Kestrels had already warned him twice about his temper and they fired him on the spot. He's now back home and completely unemployable, since he has absolutely no skills. He did easy subjects at Hogwarts instead of practical ones, his OWL results were poor and his NEWTs non-existent. He didn't even take the honorary NEWTs offered after the war, because he felt that as a 'war hero' he didn't need them. Romilda is now an assistant at Madam Malkin's, though she doesn't bring in very much, from what I understand, and has also had at least one warning about her attitude._

_About the only thing Ron is fit for is perhaps to take over from Argus Filch, who wants to retire, only Minerva won't allow Ron to be around the students. Even Aberforth Dumbledore won't give him a job sweeping floors and washing glasses, because he won't allow anyone with Ron's temper around alcohol._

_Ron is taking it out on Pansy and the girls. He tried forcing his way into the flat but, fortunately, he knows nothing about ward-breaking and I made sure both the shop and the flat have the very best wards. He says it's all Pansy's fault because "If she had just done the decent thing and gone away quietly like the whore she is" his reputation wouldn't have been damaged. I encouraged Pansy to press charges against him but, quite frankly, she's too scared of him. He has also found out about Aimée and threatened to take her away from you but the entire family rallied against him, especially Percy, who said that he would never dream of removing Phoebe from her mother._

_I actually slipped Ron some Veritaserum and the entire family was horrified by the sentiments Ron expressed. He made it very clear that he wanted to "make that Mudblood bastard bitch sorry she had ever been born." When I asked what he would do to Aimée, he replied that he fully intended to beat the living daylights out of her. Literally. I've only given you the gist of what Ron said but there was no question that he meant every malevolent word. Ron truly wants to beat Aimée to death._

_Mum made it very clear indeed that the entire family would testify against Ron if he took his case to the Wizengamot. We would all provide memories as well, so there can be no question of either the veracity of our stories, or of Ron's genuine hatred towards his daughter. Canada won't automatically give Ron custody, the way it would most likely happen here if you still lived in Britain, and the Wizengamot and the Ministry won't risk causing an international incident and damaging relations with Canada by trying to force Aimée to live with a dangerously abusive father. __Kingsley has privately assured us that the Ministry won't support any claims Ron may make._

_I don't know if Severus has told you but he and Harry have been campaigning for years to allow children of Hogwarts age to have a say in where they live outside school, after they both grew up in unsuitable environments. Kingsley was there when I fed Ron the Veritaserum, and he was so horrified by what fell out of Ron's mouth that it's finally spurred him on to introduce legislation to that effect. Kingsley is now pushing to have it become law as quickly as possible. Of course, children won't be able to move out of home just because they're annoyed their parents wouldn't buy them the latest broom! There will be strict guidelines, and case workers to support the children. Should it become necessary, a children's home will be opened to house anyone with nowhere else to go; Kingsley has already approached Mum for her advice in setting it up — he says there's no one else with as much experience as her of raising children! Anyway, if Ron tries to take his case to the Wizengamot, Kingsley has promised to tie up the case in red tape until after the law is in effect (it helps when the Minister for Magic is a family friend!), which he hopes will be before the Christmas holidays begin. It really is being fast-tracked. Aimée would then have a chance to refuse to live with Ron, which I'm sure will be a great relief to you._

_For safety's sake, though, I found the Deluminator like you asked (it was in a drawer in his room in the Burrow __—__ I don't think he even remembers about its existence)__ and Bill removed all the tracking spells. The only thing it does now is turn the lights on and off. I'll let you know if you're ever in any danger, although Ron can't exactly afford to travel to Canada right now, so he's not about to turn up on your doorstep with murder on his mind._

_All this has decided Pansy that she wants to get out of Britain __— the sooner the better. As I mentioned when you were here, I'm thinking of opening a store in Canada but I hadn't yet decided where. Could you find somewhere for Pansy and the girls to stay? Pansy can then research after she arrives and decide what city she thinks would be the best in which to open the first store._

.o.O.o.

George was not exaggerating in his letter. The entire Weasley family was appalled at the way Ron kept threatening to "Teach the mongrel bitch a lesson for getting our precious Reuben in trouble — she should have been put down at birth." There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he meant every disturbingly violent and vicious word he uttered concerning Aimée. It was frighteningly clear that Ron's feelings towards his daughter were anything but benign, and since Hermione and Aimée were not available, Ron had turned his attentions towards Pansy and her daughters in lieu of Hermione and Aimée. Pansy was now desperate to get out of Ron's reach.

Even Harry had finally come to understand that Hermione had not kept Aimee from Ron out of petty revenge, but out of a genuine need to protect her daughter. Harry had always known that Ron had an explosive temper but he had not recognised the violence simmering inside his friend. Harry now realised that Hermione had seen something in Ron to which he himself had been oblivious. Even after Ron's own family had acknowledged that their son and brother had serious problems, Harry had deliberately ignored the warning signs, which had been increasingly obvious for a very long time. Harry had willingly sacrificed his friendship with Hermione for that of Ron, who now reminded the green-eyed wizard far too much of his Uncle Vernon for his best friend's peace of mind. Unfortunately for Harry, this realisation had come too late to salvage his friendship with his former female best friend.

Hermione sat silently musing after she read the letter from George. "What are you thinking?" asked Severus curiously.

"I wonder if Ron might have been cursed in some way during the war to have caused him to become this way? Or perhaps the brains that attacked him during the Battle at the Department of Mysteries might have had an effect on him? Or even the Horcruxes — Harry, Ron and I all spent considerable time wearing one around our necks and he was very susceptible to it. He always had a temper but he was never violent when we were children; perhaps the brains and/or the Horcrux could have made him more volatile. Or it could be that he simply has PTSD, and some counselling and some anger management classes could make all the difference," Hermione considered.

"Or he could just be an arrogant, self-obsessed fool!" Severus commented acerbically. "You know it's no longer your problem, don't you? You spent enough time trying to help him grow up and, as you yourself have said in the past, there comes a time when we have to take responsibility for our own actions," he continued, more gently.

"I know. And I wish I could just put Ron Weasley out of my mind, but I can't help thinking about his behaviour," Hermione explained ruefully. For all that Hermione had once described Harry Potter as having a "saving people thing," she was not much better, taking it upon herself to try and solve everyone's problems.

Severus sighed but said nothing. He knew his witch well enough to be aware that she would keep dwelling on this if she did not take some form of action. "What's your suggestion?" he asked in resignation.

"I know there still aren't any Mind Healers in Britain but there are in other parts of the world. When I integrated into the wizarding world here in Canada, I spent some time with a Mind Healer, in order to deal with my issues from the war and from my so-called relationship with Ron, and it helped me enormously. I think I'll suggest to George that perhaps the Weasleys need to push for a Mind Healer programme at St Mungo's. I'm sure Ron isn't the only person who could benefit from it. Hell, between them, I'm sure George and Harry can afford to contract a Mind Healer to come to Britain especially to help Ron, if that's what it takes! I'll suggest it to George and my part will end as soon as I send that letter," the curly-haired witch assured her concerned lover, knowing that Severus did not want to see her tear herself up over Ron Weasley. "I'll have done my duty and it'll no longer be my concern."

Hermione immediately wrote back to George with her theories and recommendations regarding Ron and then resolutely put him out of her mind, once and for all. She also wrote to invite Pansy to come as soon as she wanted to. _"We have a couple of spare rooms,"_ she wrote. _"Your girls will have to share a room but as long as they don't mind doing that, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need to. You can then take your time deciding where to open the shop, and to source premises __— you may or may not want to live above the shop again but there will be no need for you to rush into any decisions."_

Pansy gratefully wrote to accept and, within a fortnight, she, Gaia and Freya were safely installed in the flat in Montréal. They were very glad to be there: Ronald was showing increasing signs of instability and he had terrified them all. Hermione and Severus made the small family welcome and the Clearwaters and Bellamys followed suit. In the end, Pansy decided to open the first WWW store in Montréal. This was partly because she had come to know the city; partly because she had a support network there; and partly because, even though the main wizarding shopping areas were in Toronto and Vancouver, Montréal was the primary supplier of school equipment and uniforms for Sauveterre. (Boyce Curran's custom wands may have been works of art, but they were not commonly purchased for schoolchildren; rather they were more likely to be graduation presents.) With schoolchildren being WWW's biggest customers, it made sense to open the shop in the same magical district as the school supplies were sold.

Pansy did indeed buy premises with a flat above, which she moved into with her daughters a year after arriving in Montréal. This was just in time, as Hermione had just discovered she was pregnant and so she and Severus would require more space in their apartment, which they had purchased from Penny. In due course, Hermione gave birth to a little boy, with raven coloured hair and deep black eyes, just like his father.

"My little raven," Severus said lovingly, as he held his new son in his arms.

"That's your patronus, isn't it?" asked Hermione interestedly. Severus' patronus had been a doe for many years, reflecting his feelings for Harry Potter's mother, who he had once loved and then inadvertently betrayed. After the war, he had been able to put her behind him and his patronus had changed to reflect himself.

"What about raven names? There's Corbin, or Bertram perhaps. Corbin means raven and Bertram means bright raven. Bertram is a Shakespearean name," she said enthusiastically. "Or perhaps Bran, which is a Celtic name for raven. There's also Corvus, since you have a Latin name."

"Didn't you say that your family has a tradition of Shakespearean names?" asked Severus.

"Yes, but I didn't follow it with Aimée," she replied.

"That's because you had other, more important reasons, for choosing her name. I'd rather not give him a Latin name; it should be something more mainstream, even if it's not a common name today. If we choose a raven name in honour of me, then we should also choose a Shakespearean name in honour of you," he said, smiling lovingly at his wife, who he had married a month after Pansy and her daughters had moved into their own flat.

"Bertram Snape?" asked Hermione and he nodded in agreement. "I like it," she said happily.

"I do, too," he agreed.

For all that Aimée was slightly embarrassed to have a brother so much younger than herself, she also adored little Bertie and spoiled him rotten. Aimée was Bertie's favourite person and when she was home, he could usually be found running around after her on chubby legs. It amused Hermione to see what a bright and sunny child Bertie was. "Not like his Dad at all," she teased Severus.

To be honest, Severus' talents had always been wasted teaching anything below NEWT level potions and he had been very frustrated as a schoolteacher. Severus had thrown himself whole-heartedly into his new life and was flourishing. Indeed, now that the stresses and strains of the war were over, and he was neither spying on a sociopathic madman for an ungrateful manipulator, nor teaching ungrateful and uninterested schoolchildren, he had mellowed considerably. "Not that anyone you ever taught in Hogwarts would ever believe it," Hermione teased him.

"Certainly not your idiot former friends," Severus snorted in agreement.

.o.O.o.

Although busy with their jobs and the two children, Severus and Hermione made sure to carve out time for themselves. Their favourite place to go on dates was the jazz club where Severus had taken Hermione on their very first date, when he was just visiting her in Canada.

For their first anniversary, Severus had prepared a surprise for the woman he loved. They were at the jazz club again and, to Hermione's amazement, he excused himself from their table with a kiss to her cheek, and went over to the band, who welcomed him warmly. Severus disappeared backstage for a moment and returned with a clarinet in his hands.

"We have a special treat tonight," announced the band leader. "It's Severus and Hermione's anniversary and Severus would like to tell his lovely lady just how much he loves her. Hermione, this is for you."

Severus sat himself down with the band and began to play, while Hermione sat with her jaw on the floor. The band joined in, allowing him to take the lead, and the band leader began to sing. Severus played a number of songs with the band, all love songs like _Tenderly_, _Love is Here to Stay_, _The Very Thought of You, My Funny Valentine_ and _Darling,_ _Je Vous Aime Beaucoup_. By now, Hermione had recovered from her shock and when the band leader changed the mood, moving onto slightly more upbeat songs, Severus carefully placed his clarinet down and rejoined his wife. As the band leader sang _Moondance,_ Severus swept Hermione, who was laughing with delight, into his arms and began to dance with her, to the applause of the rest of the audience. The other diners let them complete their dance before joining them on the dance floor.

The formerly lonely and bitter man looked at the beautiful woman gazing at him with love in her sparkling brown eyes. "How did I get so lucky? What did I do to deserve you?" he whispered in her ear.

"You love me, and I love you," she replied simply and caught his lips in a loving kiss.

Later that night, the two lay tangled up together in bed. Their loving had been very tender and sweet that night. It had actually brought tears to their eyes.

"I didn't know you played an instrument," Hermione commented idly, her fingers lightly running across Severus' chest as she spoke. Looking up at him, she was surprised to see him blushing.

"I began learning many years ago, when I was a teenager. I really wanted to be a saxophonist because teens thought the sax was cool and a _chick magnet_," he explained self-deprecatingly. Hearing Hermione snicker at his expense, even though that had been his intention, Severus gave her a gentle pinch and she muffled her laughter against his chest.

"The problem with that plan was that obtaining a saxophone, not to mention finding someone to teach me, in Cokeworth in the seventies was impossible. Instead I managed to find an old clarinet for sale in a local pawn shop. It had been there for long enough that the owner of the shop had decided it was never going to be redeemed and he was selling it off, so I decided to buy it and learn to play the clarinet instead of the sax. It seemed a more realistic dream. Besides, I always did like listening to Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw," he commented absently.

"I would have thought you might want a guitar instead. I can see teenage boys thinking rocking away on a guitar would be cool. It would probably also have been easier to find a guitar teacher, or even to teach yourself," Hermione observed.

"Oh, undoubtedly," Severus agreed. "I would definitely have seen rocking away on a guitar as cool — with the added advantage that it would have annoyed my father to no end. I'm sure it would have been easier to learn, either with a teacher or by teaching myself, and it would also have been cheaper to buy. But the pawn shop had a clarinet for sale and not a guitar, so clarinet it was — even if it wasn't _cool!_ But then, I wasn't exactly one of the cool kids either. I never really did walk the same path as the others around me," he added sadly and Hermione cuddled into him reassuringly.

"The pawn shop owner didn't exactly have people pounding on the door to buy the clarinet, so he agreed to hold it for me while I saved up the money," Severus continued. "I spent a couple of summers doing odd jobs, so I could buy the instrument. I even managed to find someone who could teach me. Before the local mill shut down, it had a brass band. Many people moved away after the mill closed but, of course, not everyone had the means or opportunity to do so. Among those who stayed in Cokeworth after the closure of the mill was an old horn player from the brass band. I think he had been in a military band or armed forces' concert party during the Second World War. He knew enough to teach me the basics of the clarinet, even though it wasn't his instrument, and he taught me how to read music. I didn't have the chance to learn more than that before I finished Hogwarts, and then I was too busy with my Mastery studies and, of course, I got caught up in the Death Eaters.

"After the First Blood War was over, I used to apparate to Glasgow for an hour's lesson from a proper music teacher a couple of times a week. I put it aside when Potter started Hogwarts, though. At that point, there were unmistakeable signs that the Second Blood War was coming. Between that and trying to keep Potter, Weasley and yourself alive during all your adventures at school, I didn't have time for music lessons anymore. I did continue playing in the privacy of my chambers, though, especially when I needed stress relief. It was my own choice to return to Hogwarts after the Second Blood War," he explained with a sigh. "Despite that, I was still frustrated there and I found it soothing to be able to play out my moods in music. I haven't really played much since I came to Canada because my life is now so full I don't need to search for ways to fill the emptiness and silence, but I wanted to do something special for you, dear heart."

"You succeeded. I loved it! Thank you, my love. It was beautiful," Hermione said, kissing him. The kisses soon turned amorous again, as Hermione rewarded her lover for his touching and moving surprise earlier that evening.

From then on, Severus always played for Hermione on special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Knowing that he did this for her alone made it very precious to her, and Hermione treasured it each and every time he stepped out of his comfort zone to serenade her.

.o.O.o.

Aimée continued to receive extra-curricular potions tuition from Severus, who had adopted her when he married Hermione. To no one's regret, Ron had willingly washed his hands of the daughter he did not want, on condition that Aimée agree never to contact Ron, Romilda or Reuben; it was a condition Aimée and Hermione were only too happy to accept.

After being fired by the Kenmare Kestrals, Ron and his family had moved into the Burrow, since Romilda's salary was insufficient to support them and pay Reuben's school fees as well. Harry and George sponsored a new Mind Healer clinic and made every effort to have it up and running as quickly as possible. Ronald, upon being informed by his parents that a condition of his family being allowed to live in the Burrow was that he attend sessions at the clinic, went berserk and it took Molly, Arthur and Bill all to subdue him; he ended up being the first sectioned in-patient at the clinic and was there for nearly a year before being released. The Mind Healers used a combination of counselling and potions that mimicked the Muggle drugs used to treat various mental disorders, and thought it was likely that Ron would be on a potions regimen for the rest of his life. Once Ron was released for out-patient treatment, George took him on as a mail order clerk at WWW. The combination of counselling and medication had helped Ron become rational enough to realise just how out-of-control he had been and he felt sufficiently shamed by his attitude and behaviour towards Hermione, Pansy and their daughters that he had agreed to relinquish all parental rights over all three girls. Ron never did more than that to make amends, preferring an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude but Pansy and Hermione were both perfectly happy with that much.

Reuben, who had been on strict probation at Hogwarts ever since he attacked Aimée, had been terrified of his father's berserk rage and this was a wake-up call with regard to his own behaviour. Coming under the influence of his grandparents while living at the Burrow made an enormous difference to the young lad, and Molly and Arthur spent much time with their grandson, trying to re-educate him with regard to his behavioural issues.

Molly had thought long and hard about the nature vs nurture debate that Hermione had mentioned and this had disturbed her greatly. She knew her children had been brought up _not_ to use violence, so Ron's behaviour could not be said to fall on the 'nurture' side of the scale. This left 'nature' and, knowing that Ron had inherited her own temper, made a dismayed Molly feel very guilty indeed. So it was actually a relief to her when the Mind Healers diagnosed a mental disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder¹⁹. The Mind Healers explained that this had probably always been an underlying condition with the potential to develop into a full‑blown disorder, but that it had probably been triggered and exacerbated both by PTSD and also, as Hermione had suspected, by Ron's experiences after Voldemort's return. Even the fact that Ron had been more susceptible than Harry or Hermione to the negative emotions of the Horcrux was probably due to this underlying condition. Reuben's behaviour, however, was purely down to nurture: not having been taught any better by his parents, the boy had simply followed his father's example.

Reuben also began sessions with a Mind Healer, who came to Hogwarts twice a week to help him manage his anger and work through his self-entitlement issues. Although his behaviour improved significantly, Reuben remained a poor scholar, much like his father had been. Reuben failed all his NEWTs and barely scraped together four OWLs at Acceptable grades and one OWL at Exceeds Expectations. Minerva privately admitted that the only reason his father did better in his own results was because Hermione had been there to push Ron to study, while Reuben's friends were all slackers like himself. Quidditch-mad like the rest of the Weasleys, Reuben counted himself lucky to get a job at Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley, as he knew he was not a good enough player to be taken on by any team.

His half-sister, Aimée, on the other hand, excelled at her studies and was granted her Mastery in Potions at the unprecedented age of fifteen, much to her proud parents' pleasure and joy. A few years after finishing school, the bright young witch went into business with her adoptive father and the two of them became renowned for the original potions and natural health remedies they created. Before joining Severus in the business, however, Aimée in fact underwent training as a Healer, as did Phoebe before her. While Phoebe went to work with Melissa Clearwater, Aimée put her knowledge as a Healer to use in her potions work, going on to develop cures for several conditions and illnesses that had previously been thought to be incurable. Even Severus, who had himself been a prodigy at potions, had to admit that Aimée far surpassed her Master in that area of potions. She never did find out exactly what special abilities the Kitsune who donated the whisker for her wand had, but combined with her ability at creating healing potions, and the Caladrius feather as the second core in her wand, the family surmised that it was most likely healing abilities of some sort.

As Aimée blossomed under Severus' tutelage and fatherly guidance, she often remembered what the Hogwarts Sorting Hat had said to her before placing her in Slytherin: _being in this House will certainly help you along the direction your heart wishes to take._ It was not what she had imagined when the Sorting Hat said that to her, but being sorted into Slytherin had brought Severus into their family, and his tutelage and encouragement had set her firmly on the path to attaining her Mastery in Potions.

Pansy married a caring and considerate wizard, who owned the magical pet store where Hermione and Aimée had bought their pets, Polgara and Velvet. The pet shop adjoined WWW, and as Pansy and Phillipe both lived above their premises and her husband needed to stay there to care properly for the animals in his shop, the couple decided to knock through the adjoining wall in their living quarters and create one large apartment for their family instead of buying a house together. After finishing Sauveterre, Freya joined Pansy in the joke shop, Gaia went to work with Penny in the childcare centre and their step-brother, Adam, joined his father in the pet shop. Pansy and Philippe had another daughter, who they named Roxanne; she apprenticed under Boyce Curran to become a wandmaker to rival her Master. Roxanne's husband, Bertie Snape, was inspired by listening to his father serenade his mother to become a musician, playing not only the clarinet, but also the oboe and both the alto and tenor saxophones; a truly gifted musician, he opened his own wizarding jazz club, where he became magical Canada's equivalent to Ronnie Scott.²⁰

Hermione corresponded fairly regularly with Minerva and certain Weasleys, namely Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, George and Angelina and, somewhat surprisingly, Percy and Audrey. They had all come to visit a number of times and Aimée, Penny and Phoebe now wrote to those Weasleys and their families frequently, too. While Hermione also wrote occasionally to Ginny, her correspondence with the Potters was minimal. This did not upset Hermione, however; she did not dwell on the past. Why would she? What was most important in her life was right here in Montréal. Between Severus, Aimée and Bertie, the Clearwaters, the Bellamys and even Pansy and her family, Hermione now had a richness of family that she could not have imagined when she left Britain for what she thought would be a lonely life in Canada. _'And it's all because I wanted to protect that which was most precious to me,'_ she mused, smiling at her beloved husband and children.

.o.O.o.

¹⁹ I'm aware my Ron bashing was a bit extreme and the canon character doesn't really deserve that. I wanted to give a reason behind Ron's behaviour, linking it back to both the way he always lost his temper very easily even as a child and also to his greater susceptibility to mind magics. Remember Ron took a long time to throw off the effects of the Imperius completely when Crouch Jr put their whole class under the Imperius—the effects lingered even after it was lifted—plus Ron was affected by the Horcrux more than Hermione or even Harry, who was under a double dose of Horcrux, given that he had one inside him! I also wanted to touch lightly on the fact that their war experiences could have had long-lasting effects on those who were involved, effects that could escalate without being addressed. I wouldn't have expected everyone to be able to put it all behind them as though it had never happened and, considering Ron's rather volatile temper, he was the best candidate to have problems. I apologise for not going into greater depth but the story was about Hermione moving on from her experiences, and not about Ron.

²⁰_ wikipedia dot org / wiki / Ronnie_Scott_ and _wikipedia dot org / wiki / Ronnie_Scott's_Jazz_Club,_ for those who are unfamiliar with Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club


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